Social Issues Thesis Artist Stereotypes

Prompt: In the article, "Who Art Thou? Artist Stereotypes," Alexandra Gjurasic talks
about how she is approached approached as an artist and defines various types of artist
stereotypes that exist. "When I reply, 'I'm an artist' they often use a smile to mask the underlying
look of bewilderment as to what to say next," said Gjurasic as she gives an example of how a
common conversation starts upon meeting a person. "But sometimes they respond with the kneejerk statement, "You don't look like an artist. Examine the artist stereotypes listed in the articles
by Gjurasic and other authors. Explain how these or other stereotypes may affect how people
view art careers and/or devalue artists.

Josh Caviness
Ms. Carmen Garcia and Mr. Russell Stoll
17 October 2014

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Stereotypes, one of societys massive components that has existed throughout history.
The term has to do with some type of similarity among a certain group of people; in modern
society, the word stereotype does not have the most positive connotation. Many stereotypes
have to do with race or financial class, but stereotypes exist from the largest to the smallest of
things and topics. For example, artist stereotypes are a topic that probably does not come to mind
as often as others when thinking of the word, stereotype, but when the mention of artist
appears, the majority of people may think of negative qualities and characteristics. Alexandra
Gjurasic mentions in her article about situations when someone asks her about her occupation,
When I reply, Im an artist they often use a smile to mask the underlying look of utter
bewilderment as to what to say next (Gjuarasic). From that experience, it seems that there is
some negativity that swirls about the artist stereotypes people think of. Although artist
stereotypes seem to be very abstract, many people refer to these stereotypes with a form of
negativity and complexity.

Commonly, artist stereotypes tend to fall on the negative side as people tend to think of
negative qualities. Even Gjurasic states, But sometimes they respond with the knee-jerk
statement, You dont seem like an artist (Gjurasic). This statement is a continuation of the
previous mention about Gjurasics occupation when asked by other people. The statement that
Gjurasic mentions implies some form of pessimism due to how the sentenced was formed. This
may discourage the artist about how they feel about themselves as any stereotype or false
judgment affects a person. According to Clara Lieu, The negative stereotypes that are prevalent
about artists certainly dont help either. Most of them could not be farther from the truth: that
artists are lazy, flaky, that none of us get famous until after we die (Lieu). These stereotypes

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seem to be roughly repetitive in various articles about artist stereotypes. The perception of those
characteristics stem from a sense of negativity as beliefs and practice of these qualities are
subjective to each person. Due to the existence of these fixed stereotypes, this may lead to a
consensus of negativity towards any artist whom are not what some people believe them to be.
Jason Brokert believes that if we acknowledge stereotypes with too much belief then we run the
risk of too easily dismissing someone or something in our world view of artists (Borkert). This
is very much true; as with any stereotype, some people may judge others based off of a
stereotype in their mind which may inhibit negative or passive thoughts towards others that may
appear to be similar to that person. If everyone thought as artists as people who are lazy and do
not contribute to the world, then it would create an even more passive society towards the artists
whom assiduously work on various pieces, including those who make art for social awareness
about certain worldly issues. There are very few artists that a majority of people know about that
push for positive change and awareness of certain issues; artists such as Shepard Fairey, Bansky,
Ron English. Since most people only look at artwork from a visual perspective rather than a
symbolic view, a massive amount of messages are lost. For example, Ron Englishs parodies of
certain pop icons in pop culture are found humorous from a visual stand point; he also leaves
Easter eggs of sorts in order to lay a foundation for his version of the truth of these popular
subjects in society that various companies thrive on. If people completely ignored any of those
artists, the message would not spread much at all; as it is, some messages spread very thin across
a country or the world as the number of people who do not pay attention to those messages
outweighs those who do pay attention to those artistic messages. Usually, a great deal of hard
work and effort goes into artwork. Lieu explains:

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In order for people to attain a greater understanding of the process of being an artist, at
least two things would need to happen: artists would need to start to make themselves and
their processes more transparent and accessible to everyone, and the general public would
need to a mainstream venue in which they could see what happens in the creative process.
(Lieu)

Having more artists expose more of their creative process may open up the minds to more
people, creating an openly expansive world of thought about artists in general. The creative
processes varies from start to finish, but most artists tend to stick to a specific process that works
for them; even the easiest process out of the rest may still be intensive. Also, in order to know
how to perform a specific process, the artist must have a wide knowledge on how certain
materials or elements effect one another in a certain medium. For example, a painter must know
what layers of paint should go on before others, what shades and tints of paint to use along with
values, maybe what size brushes are appropriate to use if they have various brushes,
composition, and much more all before a painting has begun, granted that most artists manipulate
their painting processes in their own way. Photographers also have to have a preliminary thought
about how they would like to have certain photographs come out; they have to like about ISO (or
ASA), exposure, aperture of the lens, what kind of lens, what kind of camera, editing afterward
and much more; also keeping in mind that this process extremely varies from photographer from
photographer. Furthermore, showing or explaining the creative process of any of an artists
artwork could break the fixed mindset of most individuals of certain individuals along with any
common stereotypes towards artists an individual may carry.

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With artist stereotypes, or any stereotype for that matter, some people tend to think of
similar stereotypes when thinking about artists; even artists themselves do this. Gjurasic says, If
you asked me to imagine a stereotypical artist, Id imagine a beatnik in striped black and white
shirt and a red beret smoking a cig in some unsavory bar, in a place like Paris or Williamsburg
(Gjurasic). She thinks of the stereotypical French artist that you may see in movies and television
shows. Even as an artist, herself, she still thinks of common stereotypes while she does know
that it is not true; this is where media may be the source to blame due to the fact that a majority
of the depictions of artists in the media such as television shows, are French artist stereotypes.
The traits that Gjurasic described are not necessarily bad, but it does seem to be bad in the way
that persona is a common stereotype artists think of themselves. E. Kriz further supports this
idea, Normally when I think of the stereotypical artist, the image that comes to mind is a French
painter with a beret, a paint covered smock, and a curly mustache. However, we are not in
France, and I have never seen anyone dressed like that except in movies (Kriz). Kritz points out
that only place the French stereotype is seen, is in the movies; nobody really dresses that way, so
it is not safe to say for all artist the same thing. In sense, Kritz indirectly points towards another
topic of racial stereotyping, but that is a discussion for another time. Jim Lane continues the ball
on the French artist stereotype with what he has heard:

All artists wear little black berets and white smocks (I own neither). All artists are slender
from years of starvation. (I wish.) All artists have wildly unkempt hair and paint under
their fingernails. (Where do I sign up for the unkempt hair?) And most of all, artists are
temperamental (no comment). (Lane)

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He also talks a little bit about the French artist stereotype but adds the stereotypes of unkempt
hair, white smock, paint under fingernails, and the slender body style. As an artist, Lane
points out how he is the opposite from this by integrating his commentary in the explanation of
the stereotypes he has heard from other people; essentially, he is saying that he does not fit the
stereotypes at all which brings the statement that these stereotypes, of course, do not apply to all
artists. Adriana Willsies interpretation or thought about an artist stereotype is slightly different
as she says, I knew exactly what she was describing. One of those artist-types, complete with
ripped jeans, dingy loft, aloof attitude, and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth (Willsie). She
explains a time when she over-heard two people talking about another and one of them
mentioned that he is the artist type. Throughout the rest of Willsies article, she talks about
how that stereotype should not apply at all she, an artist, is far from that stereotype. She goes into
detail about the qualities she has as her own individual and compares them to the stereotypical
qualities of a stereotypical artist; both sets of qualities do not match with one another. If she
roughly fit the exact stereotype of an artist, she would still not be a stereotypical artist as she
would definitely have other qualities that differentiates her from that broad idea of an artist. In
general, the artist stereotypes do not apply to all artists as each artist is their own individual.

Throughout many walks of life, there is a wide-range of artists with various personalities
and interests just like any other individual. Stereotypes, although similar, can be quite different
from the average negative stereotypes, but those negative types appear to dominate the
conversation of society. Kitz mentions that:

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Some stereotypes are generally harmless, such as the idea that artists lead interesting
lives. However, not all of them are. Clearly, judging by the responses in Urban
Dictionary, there are a lot of negative opinions out there about artists, which is sad to
think about. I, personally, dont know anyone who burns pianos and calls it art, but those
people are definitely out there. (Kriz)

She explains the other side to artist stereotypes, the positive side; she mentions the compelling
lives they MAY have along with their own personalities. Then, she moves to her awareness of
the negative side of the artist stereotypes some people perceive, and does acknowledge that some
people may have some qualities of an artist stereotype. Carolyn Edlund talks the flakey artist
stereotypes in her article and states, Hmmm...well, there are plenty of flakey people out there,
although they certainly arent all artists (Edlund). She definitely acknowledges the extremely
valid point that there are many people with that same flakey quality and notes that they are
definitely not all artists. This quality can be a part of anyones personality that makes them that
particular and unique individual. Willsie further supports that position when she says, Im not
saying that those types of artists dont exist and that theyre not very good at producing their art.
But I am saying that were not all that way (Willsie). Of course, artist are most definitely not the
same way; this is arguable for any stereotype for any group of people. Groups of people have a
certain image to other individuals which gives many false ideas about those groups of people.

Due to artist stereotypes, artists are believed to have a certain persona which may have
negative interpretations as assumptions are not flattering as those assumptions are telling a
person how that persons personality is like. Even the enjoyment of performing art all the time is

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a common misconception of all artists. Brokert explains, The analogy that if I make art and the
public perceives making art as something akin to eating ice cream and thus my life must be like
eating ice cream is a nauseating conception (Brokert). He compares art to ice cream because ice
cream is a dessert that you what to enjoy, but not all the time. The reason why he refers to that
comparison as a nauseating conception is the fact that if you eat ice cream all the time you are
going to grow bored and sick of it; that logic applies to his ambition for art. If he did art
constantly and all of the time, his excitement and interest for it might fade away. Also, just April
Doner argues, Where these qualities emerge in artists, its often as much an environmental
reason as it is connected to some kind of inherent quality of artists as creatures, as well as an
internally-fed crutch that holds us artists back from realizing our true potential (Doner). Anyone
can believe that these qualities may exist in artist, as those qualities do with anybody, but most
qualities ultimately come down to the environment around individual artists; different artists
respond to various environments quite differently. For example, if there were students with a
teacher who does not care to help a student or plan better lessons, one student might take that as
the situation is and not do anything about it such as seeking help, ultimately falling behind. On
the other hand, that student could also better his or herself by trying to find a tutor, new class or
school, or more information on his or her own time; it really can go either way as people do
respond differently to various environments. As Doner goes on, he also explains that the
environment around an artist can also hold he or she back from their true potential as the
environment may be discouraging. She continues with how she has met agrophobic artists,
unorganized artists, super organized artists, businessminded artists, non-business-minded artists,
eccentric and completely normal artists (Doner). As she has met many artists, she noticed how
their personal types contrast with one another as these stray from the common negative

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misconceptions of artists. These personality types span to a plethora of areas in situations and life
displaying that artists exist almost everywhere. Jim Lane extends the diversity of artists as he
explains, A stereotype suggests commonality. Yet, if you study the lives of artist down through
the ages as I have, you'll find that artists have very little in common. In fact, they are far more
different than they are alike (Lane). Lane talks about how the definition or suggestion of the
word stereotype contrasts with who, he believes, really are which is diverse in many aspects;
he uses his experiences as guidance to help him shape what he think artists are which is
extremely agreeable. Artists are not at all the same, but different as any individual is.

In essence, there are many negative artist stereotypes, but there are some positive
stereotypes people view as the essential qualities to an artist. There are various stereotypes of
artists that come to a persons mind as some ideas of stereotypes maybe similar to others. The
French artist stereotype seems to be the common misconception about artists; the berets, the
striped shirt, the cigar or cigarette, and maybe a red scarf appears in that stereotype which not
much of a change, even some artists themselves think of that idea if ask what do they think an
artist is like. The stereotypes may point to negative qualities such as flakiness or
disorganization, but really anyone could have these qualities; not all of these people are artists.
People should not think of the worst in terms of the stereotypes because these notions can
discourage anybody, especially artists whom have a process to their work. Of course some
stereotypes are not all negative, but the majority of stereotypes that most people focus on are of
the negative kind. Furthermore, there are copious amounts of qualities that makes up an artist, or
any individual for that matter, unique and not all are the same; everything is not what it seems.
Bringing the diversity of artists into the light can make the world notice those specific artists

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with altruistic intentions and messages to bring forth awareness towards worldly issues in order
to contribute to the change of the world for the better.

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Works Cited
Brokert, Jason. "Art Myths, Art Stereotypes and the Art Gospel." Colored Mud. 18 Apr. 2008.
Web. <http://jasonbrockert.com/ayearinart/?p=77>.
Doner, April. "Breaking Down Artist Stereotypes." ABCD in Action. 9 Sept. 2011. Web. <http
%3A%2F%2Fabcdinaction.ning.com%2Fprofiles%2Fblogs%2Fbreaking-down-artiststereoptypes>.
Edlund, Carolyn. "Do You Fit the Artist Stereotype?" Artsy Shark. Artsy Shark. Web.
<http://www.artsyshark.com/2013/07/23/do-you-fit-the-artist-stereotype/>.
Gjurasic, Alexandra. "Who Art Thou? Artist Stereotypes - Pyragraph." Pyragraph. Pyragraph, 8
July 2013. Web. <http://www.pyragraph.com/2013/07/who-art-thou-artiststereotypes/>.
Kriz, E. "The Stereotypical Artist." Figuili Es. 17 Dec. 2013. Web.
<http://krizpots.wordpress.com/2013/12/17/the-stereotypical-artist/>.
Lane, Jim. "Art Now and Then: Artist Stereotypes." Art Now and Then. 16 July 2013. Web.
<http://art-now-and-then.blogspot.com/2013/07/artist-stereotypes.html>.
Lieu, Clara. "Ask the Art Professor: Will Negative Stereotypes about Artists Ever Go Away?"
The Art Professor. 28 Apr. 2013. Web.
<http://claralieu.wordpress.com/2013/04/28/ask-the-art-professor-will-negativestereotypes-about-artists-ever-go-away/>.
Willsie, Adriana. "The Artist Stereotype." Adriana Willsie. 31 Oct. 2011. Web.
<http://adrianawillsie.com/the-artist-stereotype>.