- Art is an opportunity to build a stronger community
- Word from Virtosu Art Gallery owner Daniel Varzari
- 3 June '19
by Daniel Varzari
3 June '19Art is an opportunity to build a stronger community
People often disagree about what is good and bad art. Often we can agree that some artworks are understood to be the greatest achievements of humankind. There is a basis for good taste, which is our feelings, our response to the artwork.
Advocating good taste is a thing of the late 1950s, when certain people could have been in the position to judge what is in good taste, and imposed their views on the rest of the population, however, antics aside. Since then, much has changed.
Today, we rarely speak of someone having good taste. Taste is a word that's off limits when it comes to art. Now, if you were to talk of having great taste you'd be laughed at, seen as old fashioned and out of touch. Nothing is worse than saying one artwork is definitively better than another, and that everyone else should think so too.
Knowing that art is just a signifier is the modern perspective. This means it is exhausting speaking about art because everything is qualified and all judgements hedged. A number of people look almost scared to say that something is much better than something else. Everything is just a point of view, nothing more.
The taste is the result of critical conflicts. The taste should be formed through debate. Doing this means persuasive fellow members of the society for what art has value in line with the standards we've chosen. If artwork things, then we ought to care about quality. And that means having the courage to forge or build a standard of good taste. It takes time, in neither way impossible.
We often use words like journey and evolution to describe amassing a collection, illustrating its ongoing nature. The best collections that I’ve ever seen, been invited into, are collections that have constantly evolved and been constantly upgraded over time. Today’s art is more diverse, sophisticated and challenging. There's more to collecting today than purchasing objects of antique.
Important is committing to the arts as a proposition and encouraging their broader accessibility to those in our community. Once we find an artist we like, be the one pushing. Sometimes a collector can mean bolstering a viewpoint, and/or a meaningful message.
People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people won't ever forget how you made them feel. Often, we make no effort to ensure meaning and understanding of objects of art. In my experience, people will not be enthusiastic about something they don’t understand.
We believe that everything one say and do as an organization contributes to its identity. It can either reinforce or obscure the brand. Art is an opportunity to create meaningful messages, connect with people, and strengthen the emotional relationship of society. That’s how we build a stronger community.
