There is a lot of absolute bollocks talked about art. So much bollocks, in fact, that it’s actively putting people off. And that should worry anyone who actually cares about art surviving outside a tiny, self-congratulatory bubble.
Art is being smothered by elitism. Choked by pretentiousness. Killed off by people who like the sound of their own voices far more than they like the experience of looking, listening, feeling, or making. We need to stop that. Urgently.
Stop Talking Bollocks About Art. Let’s start with the obvious: we do not need more people mouthing off about art because they think they’re experts. They’re not. There are no art experts. Experts are for science. Engineering. Medicine. Technical fields where answers can be tested, proven, replicated. Art doesn’t work like that and never has. Art lives in feelings, instincts, memories, discomfort, delight, boredom, confusion, joy. You can’t measure it with a ruler or explain it away with clever words. Yet everywhere you look, there’s someone desperate to sound authoritative. To frame art as something you need permission to enjoy. As if there’s a right way to look and a wrong way to feel. As if you need a glossary and a degree in art history before you’re allowed an opinion. That’s nonsense. Pretentious nonsense. And it’s doing real damage.
Keep the Pompous Twits Away. Nothing kills curiosity faster than being made to feel stupid. The moment art becomes a lecture, people switch off. The moment it’s wrapped in jargon, people assume it’s not for them. The moment someone starts “explaining” what you should be seeing or feeling, the magic drains out of the room.
Art doesn’t need gatekeepers. It needs fewer pompous twits standing between people and their own reactions.
If someone looks at a painting and feels nothing, that’s valid. If someone looks at the same painting and feels like crying, laughing, or walking out in a rage, that’s valid too. None of those reactions are wrong. None of them need correcting. Art isn’t a test you can fail.
Practice, Process, and Other Joy-Killers; While we’re at it, let’s talk about two words that should never be used when talking about art: practice and process. They’re just plain wrong. They turn something alive into something managerial. They make art sound like a corporate workflow or a marketingproposal. They suck the joy and mystery out of making art, and replace it with dull, institutional language that belongs in grant applications, not human conversation. When people hear that sort of talk, they don’t think, “I’d love to try that.” They think, “This isn’t for me.” And that’s a tragedy.
Art isn’t a “practice”. It’s something you do because you’re alive. It’s an exploration, a mess, a stab in the dark. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes it surprises even the person who made it. That uncertainty is the point.
Everyone Is a Special Kind of Artist; Here’s the radical idea elitism hates the most: anyone can be an artist. You don’t need qualifications. You don’t need validation. You don’t need to sell anything or show anything or explain anything. If you make something because you feel compelled to, because it helps you understand yourself or the world or nothing at all, that’s enough. With art everyone brings something different because everyone is different. It’s not a hierarchy; it’s a landscape.
And on the other side of the equation: anyone can appreciate art. You don’t need knowledge. You don’t need context. You don’t need to know what the artist “meant”. You don’t even need to like it. Art doesn’t have to mean anything. Stop hunting for hidden messages like it’s a crossword puzzle. Take from it what you want. Or take nothing. Both are fine. The only opinion that matters is yours.
Art Is Not a Secret Society. Somewhere along the line, art became a members-only club. A place where the right references, the right language, and the right taste supposedly matter. They don’t. There are no standards. No rules. No secret handshakes. Liking art is not a sign of intelligence or cultural worth. Disliking it isn’t either. It’s just a personal choice. And the moment we accept that, art opens up again. It stops being intimidating and starts being interesting.
Art Doesn’t Have to Cost You Anything; Another myth worth killing: that art is expensive and inaccessible.
Yes, some of it is. But a surprising amount isn’t. There are still galleries and museums you can walk into for free. Entire collections available without spending a penny. Even in places that charge for special exhibitions, the permanent spaces are often open to everyone. Start there. Wander. Look at what catches your eye. Ignore what doesn’t. Leave when you’re bored. You don’t owe anyone reverence.
Art doesn’t demand sacrifice. It invites attention.
Art for All, or Art for No One; If art is going to survive as anything other than a luxury hobby for the already-confident and already-connected, it needs to be democratised. That means dropping the jargon. Ditching the hierarchy. Letting people in without making them feel small. Accepting that art lives in experience, not explanation. Art for all. Not art for the chosen few. Not art for the loudest voices. Not art filtered through layers of pretension. Just art. Messy, emotional, confusing, personal, open.
And finally Mr art expert. If your way of talking about art puts people off, you’re not protecting it. You’re strangling it. Less bollocks. More feeling. That’s how art survives.
agreed