Early on in my career, the idea was put into my head that "there is no such thing as bad art." The purpose, I suppose, was to encourage young artists to be proud of their accomplishments, no matter how poorly they performed. I even presented my own art students with that idea, hoping they would be inspired by the comment and not give up so easily on themselves.
But I have since discovered that such a statement is flawed. That there is "no such thing as bad art" may on the surface appear correct, but does it really help people a whole lot to tell them that?
My view on this subject took a different turn when I began databasing professional artists on the internet. I felt compelled to hold things to a high standard, so I found it difficult to combine the "good art" with the "bad." Not sure if I was doing the right thing, it all became clear one day while discussing the matter with another artist friend, whose talent was in high demand.
He told me flat out that we were not doing artists a favor by telling them that their art was good, when in fact it was not. According to his thinking, this tough love approach to criticism served to prevent any artist from becoming content, when their skills clearly showed need for improvement.
In this sense, to promote the idea that there is no such thing as bad art can do us all more harm than good. Encouragement is important. But we should avoid compliments which may lead only to complacency. The pursuit of excellence is an opportunity that lies before us. What does not exist is perfectionism. And as we say, there is always room for improvement.
