From Fame To Tame

There is a great article in the current issue of Newsweek magazine that talks about an artists ability to be bold and radical with their art until the world begins to notice their work. Then, the artist tends to move into something more mainstream. I've struggled with this as I slowly try to move into a more serious role in the fine art arena. Read the article, it is fascinating.

As an artist, my work and work of other artists I respect, especially musicians, ebbs and flows in content, context, an emotion depending on many factors of your current and past life experiences. I am not real familiar with this artist so I can't make a judgment on her body of work. The author of this article, Peter Plagens, seems to think that Opie has moved from Fame to Tame or Radical to Mainstream as her career has progressed. I guess, in the end, only the artist and their closest friends and family may know that answer but is does raise a question that as artists, we must be concerned about.

The images above are by artist Catherine Opie.