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Are Creative Works Really Subjective?
We hear it all the time: art is subjective.
As a writer and photographer, I’ve consoled myself with that line when some of my work doesn’t do too well, A.K.A. fall flat on the floor. I guess I picked that up from other colleagues ahead of me.
Maybe they only said that to cheer me up. Or they meant it from the bottom of their hearts. But I’ve thought about it deeply. Is art really subjective?
Do we have good art and terrible art only because people say so? Do we have good writing and bad writing? Can we label some pictures as good and others as great?
Here’s my attempt to help address this challenge.
Are you getting paid for the work?
If someone wants to pay you for a job in the creative arts and they have some specifications, I guess subjectivity goes out of the window immediately.
As a photographer, I have slight fears when I present pictures to clients. I ask myself whether they’ll like what I’m giving them. Will they appreciate my unique style even if it doesn’t appeal to them?
As a writer, I have similar concerns. I wonder if the underwhelming results on some of my pieces are because the work is below par or art is just subjective.
