Is Arts Criticism Inherently Political: In Conversation with Sarah Rose Sharp @ Detroit Cultural (#2 – Summer 2019)
Thanks to Danny VanZandt and Detroit Cultural for including me in their Summer 2019 issue, out today!
DC: Do you view your work as an art critic as separate from your art practice, or as a part of it?
SRS: I have found that life is more fulfilling for me, in general, when I stop trying to dictate what is and is not a part of my art practice. There are times when I’m making lots of objects and working with physical materials, and times when I’m mostly reading, traveling, having conversations, looking at art, and of course, writing about it—those things are all part of a process that informs and contributes to my making process. I think it’s an immature or cliché view of “being an artist” to limit that experience to, like, wearing paint-spattered pants and being in the studio. I am an artist, so most of what I do is affected by and contributes to a creative spirit—sometimes that looks like discernible art objects, sometimes it looks like elaborate meal preparation, sometimes it looks like writing and reflecting on other people’s discernible art objects or processes.
That said, there are skills or frameworks that apply much more to arts writing than art making, and vice-versa—but I see a place later in this interview where we can talk about that.
Read more here…