Fused and Fashioned

"The artistic problem is the problem of making a match between an emotional experience and a form that has been conceived but not created" --Clive Bell, "The Artistic Problem" page 104

Clive Bell's "The Artistic Problem," not only outlines a problem faced by artist, but also, debunks stereotypes. Generalizations can lead to the assumption that artist and the act of creating art, is a process free of all inhibitions or standards. Bell exposes the dirty secret: being an artist is not a free-wheeling, free-feeling, abstract act of throwing paint on a canvas, but an act requiring scrupulous effort.

As outlined by Bell, "the artistic problem" seems to be founded in the authoritative legacies of great artists like Raphael, hover over artist like a master over an apprentice. Yet, the content of Bell's piece does portray the urgency or duress implied by the word "problem." Bell could have easily title the work "The Artistic Annoyance" or "The Artistic Inconvenience," that more accurately describes the tone of the piece. Bell seeks to illustrate the artistic problem by creating fictional angst for Shakespeare at the thought of having to put all his feelings inside the boundaries of the ABAB form of a sonnet. This is not a good example. Even within the set form of a sonnet, Shakespeare created beautiful sonnets. Thus proving that innovation is a hallmark of any discipline. Not only did Shakespeare follow the formulaic style, through innovation made the sonnet unique to his own style. Bell negates his own argument

The lack of urgency or duress missing from a piece with the word "problem" in its title, may be associated with the author's own status as an artist. Bell may have struggled with the "artistic problem," but the seems as if the concept is reserved for those artist who sought the recognition that comes from having one's work be labeled as "art." The irony of the essay is that Bell is an artist, yet he distances himself from a concept he created. For example, a few of his descriptions of an artist, are prefaced with the phrase, "an artist, I imagine, is" (103). He speaks as if he is not an artist. Perhaps, there is a method to his madness. In outlining the artistic problem, Bell's ulterior motive may be to distinguish himself as an artist. The Bloomsberries were artists, but they created for the sake of creation. Bloomsberries were not motivated by money or recognition, and they were not focused on specific styles or forms. I do not think Bell or other Bloomsberries were as concerned with the problems laid out in Bell's essay. Bell constructed this argument as a critique of artist who become worked up over the definition of what constitutes art. Individual genius is birthed through the act of creating just for the sake of creation. Bell offers advice to artist along these lines stating "he [the artist] cannot exude form: he must set himself to make a particular form" (106). I think Shakespeare would second that notion.

Viva Virginia!

I am currently in Las Vegas as a part of a cousin's bridal party. As wandered through Vegas, I thought about how Virginia Woolf and Vegas are similar. With that said, shall I compare her to a Vegas night?

Vegas is a city of extreme untruths. There's an Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty on the same street. Although Vegas represents extreme falsities, the city has no pretense. Nothing here is supposed to be real. It's all sensory overload, and everybody knows it's only here to create intrigue and for aesthetic appeal. Vegas is completely honest in the fact that it is dishonest. It is

a very genuine city.

Like Vegas, Virginia Woolf is also genuine. The most compelling aspect of her authenticity is apparent in E.M. Forester's piece. Forester notes that Virginia "was a lady, by birth and upbringing, and it was no use being cowardly about it, and pretending that her mother had turned a mangle, or that Sir Leslie had been a plasterer's mate" (216). I like the phrase "no use being cowardly." I wonder if he had heard Virginia say this phrase before because it seems as if "no use being cowardly"could have been her mantra. She was a woman who had the courage to be her self and she was also a feminist. I can see her thinking of this phrase before composing a A Room of One's Own:"No use being cowardly, so I'll challenge patriarchy!"