Daily writing prompt: Who are your favorite artists?
Assuming we’re talking about the visual artists whose works you would find in a museum — painters, sculptors, photographers — I can give you some names. Edward Hopper’s paintings move me. I admire many of LeRoy Neiman’s sports paintings. Every sculpture by Auguste Rodin that I have ever seen has transfixed me.
But to stop there would be dishonest. It implies that I have selected these artists from many others I’ve experienced. And the truth is, I have little experience with or understanding of the visual arts. I know some names. I could (probably) pick “Starry Night” and “The Scream” out of lineups of knockoffs. But I know those paintings and some others only because of pop culture references. I know little about art in general, which makes it disingenuous for me to say any artist is a favorite. It’s as though I’d only ever tasted vanilla and chocolate ice cream. Could I tell you my favorite flavor? Sure. But to have a favorite implies a breadth of experience that is absent. The limited experience makes the statement almost meaningless.
Learning more about the arts would expand my world. But I have only so much time available and only so many things I can pay attention to. Someday, I will take an art class. Only then will it mean something for me to say I have a favorite artist.
