In a nutshell, I really don't care if you call yourself a life-artist, a premiere paper manipulator or a memory diva. That is all your ball of wax and it really has nothing to do with me. It's all about live and let live to me.
But there are some who are bothered by it, and that tells me that it's a topic that is worthy of discussing...to death...again.
So we have the scrapbookers (so named Suzy) who sees her craft as just that, a craft. Suzy sees things pretty much as she thinks they are and any additional fluff is nonsense. Suzy sits at her dining room table or in her craft room/guestroom and scraps her pictures. Being published may or may not be within the scope of her crafty radar but her 1st and foremost goal is to get those danged pictures on paper and in an album.
Then we have the 'Artists' who feel that they have taken their craft to the next level and that the aesthetic value of what they produce is worthy of being labeled 'art'. The Artists work with 'mediums' in their 'studios' and strive (most often) to gain or retain a foothold in the industry.
Are either of these versions of the scrapbooker 'wrong'? I personally don't think so, but again, this isn't all about me. Where my concern comes in is where the rift between the two groups continues to widen; the acceptance of each other. To many scrapbookers the idea of assigning a name that smells faintly of grandeur is egotistical and self absorbed. To some, the work that they are creating is valued as something grand and/or they have received sufficient accolades to warrant perceiving themselves to be a step 'above' the rest.
Why does anyone care? In this day and age where people have the ability to reinvent themselves whenever they possess the resources and desire to do so, why do we take time to care about how someone else sees themselves? Why is there so much focus on validating whether or not someone is or isn't an artist? Why does the act of calling oneself an artist have to be equated to a lowered opinion of the 'scrapbooker'? Is that lowered opinion originating from the person who calls herself an Artist? or is it coming from the Scrapbooker who feels that what she does isn't worthy of being considered art? Again...why does it matter?
There are some well known scrapbookers who have chosen to label themselves and to conduct themselves with an air of superiority within this industry (complete with fan girls and autograph sessions).
- Is the fact that they have managed to gain popularity and therefore elevate their perception of their craft a bad thing?
- If you go to a blog and read about someones atelier (at'l ya) how is the onus of your offense on the person who wrote the blog entry? Wasn't it free will that put you into a situation where you find yourself reading that blog?
- Does it matter if someone calls their workspace a scrap space, a studio, or a fire waiting to happen? Is it really any of our concern that a scrapbooker calls herself an artist? I used to call my scraproom a rats nest, then I called it my scrappin' hole, then my craft room. The name I chose for my scrapping environment is representative of how I view my craft; I assume that the same holds true with the ladies/men who call their scrappin' hole a studio. I don't have anymore right to tell anyone how to view their crafting environment or what they create within the confines of it than anyone else has to tell me what to name mine or what to call myself. So why all of the contention over something as mundane as how someone else views themselves? Why this need to project our views of this craft on others and insist that they assimilate their views to mirror our under threat of persecution?
Webster's New World Dictionary defines an artist as: 1. One who is skilled in any of the fine arts. 2. One who does anything very well. 3. A professional in any of the performing arts.
In my opinion, it doesn't matter what anyone is calling themselves, and until self labeling effects the price of gasoline or starts a war, I won't concern myself with it. It's a battle that is not only not worth fighting, but is a losing one. It's highly irrelevant, petty and only serves to cast a negative light on those who chose to make it an issue. I'm not saying that anyone is wrong for thinking that a scrapbooker calling herself an artist is wrong; that's your personal value system at work. I think that we cross a line when we look down upon, chastise or otherwise devalue the contributions of another crafter simply because their perceptions of self are different from our own.
I think the most important question in all of this is Why Does It Matter?
11 comments:
it doesn't...people just need something to gripe about. And when topics get old..Ali comes back into play.
I used to be in the 'artist' category until I realized that I will never perserve my children's memories at the rate I was going. I have now moved into the 'git er dun' mode. What a weight off my shoulders! I *gasp* scraplift. And it's okay. My kids will never know OR care that their mom didn't come up with that page idea herself.
Back on topic..I don't care what people call themselves as far as life artist yadda yadda. To each their own.
I don't think people care so much about the labels as they do about the superiority complex that is sometimes (but not always) behind that label. I admit. There have been times when I've been hesitant to tell someone that I'm a "scrapbooker." That usually comes when I encounter someone who has a pre-defined image of what kind of pages, in their experience, a scrapbooker does. Usually (again in my experience) this is someone who knows a scrapbooker who just wants to get memories into albums and doesn't concern herself with design principles or if Precious Moments stickers are trendy. Not that there's anything wrong with that ;) It's just not how I scrapbook.
So, if my hesitation to say that I'm a scrapbooker is because it means that the person I'm talking to is going to group me, in his/her mind, with his/her preconceived notion of scrapbooking, does that mean I have a superiority complex? Or does it simply mean that I wish there were a better way to indicate that yes, I'm a scrapbooker, but I have a different style. Not better, but different. Maybe if people understood that the stereotype in their minds (and in each mind it could be different) was not actually an across the board description then we wouldn't feel the need to label ourselves.
Maybe we could have scrapbooking schools like the philosophers or the painters and sculptors. All of us equal but different instead of squabbling over who's an artist, who's a life artist, who's a Suzy, etc... It's probably too late for that - too many negative connotations with some of the scrapping philosophies (for lack of a better term) that currently exist (ie: CM).
I'm rambling and I hope that I haven't said anything that comes off as offensive, since that's not my intent. I just think that a lot of scrapbookers are just trying to get out from a 10-year old stereotype. I've seen the looks from people who think I'm crazy to spend the time, money and effort that I do. I do not personally refer to myself as an artist, but I understand the frustration of trying to come up with a way to indicate somehow, that my scrapbooking is not about 30 pages in a weekend, stickers, diecuts and leaving a legacy for my children (since I have none) but that it's still about photos, preserving my memories, having an artistic release, and sometimes using stickers or diecuts.
BTW... I think it's kind of funny that people call their scraprooms Ateliers, since technically it means "attic" in French. It's kind of come to be associated with workshop, but I guess saying it in French just sounds better. However, since my scraproom actually IS in an attic, does that mean I can finally use my 7 Gypsies "Atelier" word plate? lol.
You go girl..use that word plate. :)
I agreed with this: I've seen the looks from people who think I'm crazy to spend the time, money and effort that I do.
I HATE that. For one thing the amount of money I spend is probably less than they spend on their ceramics or DVD buying or eating out. The comment that gets me is..I don't have TIME to do that. Well I just CHOOSE to use my time differently...I don't watch Desperate Housewives (not that there is anything wrong with that..I just choose to use my time differently) or shop.
I do get the superiority complex though...it is irritating to hear some gals think they are all that and a bag of chips.
it's not the labels that bug me, it's the attitudes that go with them. Call yourself whatever you want as long as you don't consider your word a "higher" label.
I didn't know we were all supposed to have French attics now. I still have a scrap space and not a "studio." *gasp* I feel so behind!
I agree with the above poster who says she sometimes avoids using the word scrapbooker with people who may have a preconceived notion about it.
I create scrapbook pages, collages, cards and various other items so I call myself a papercrafter. My friends who are artists in the traditional sense of the word (painters, sculptors) respect and understand the term.
I create in my craft area (not strictly a room). Why are we all avoiding the word "craft"?
This is so refreshing I could spit. Okay, that was obnoxious.
You know, I never thought about the reasons for WHY some label themselves! I too have found myself reluctant to say I'm a scrapbooker because of the way the craft is perceived by the people that I work with. I used to pen myself as an artist because I am very artsey fartsey and work in many different mediums. I never did it with an air of superiority though, if anything I felt inferior because of the way my family views the whole artist thing. I don't use artist anymore because I spend so much time doing other stuff that I have been neglecting my artsey inner child.
Thank you poster for that indepth explaination because you really opened my eyes and it sounds like there are more of you than there are the self-proclaimed scrap-royalty out there. I just wish that people wouldn't be so concerned with what others called themselves...but then again if it weren't for the scrap-royalty this pimple would never have come to a head and we could all call ourselves whatever we want! lol
And just for the record, I love to read, so write a novel if you want, if you have something to say, say it, scream it if you want! I'd rather read 2 pages of honesty than 3 lines of brutal profanity and mean spiritedness.
I can so relate to the labeling thing! I agree that there is a preconceived notion about scrappers--soccer mom, 2.5 kids, minivan. That is no true about many people I know who scrapbook. And if I say I scrapbook when I meet people, I get that inevitable, "I can never do that; I have no time; I am not creative." I am also a scrapbook consultant for a DS company--I find that if I say I am a scrapbook instructor I get less comments.
That said--Life Artist, artiste, scrapper extraordinaire, super scrapper--whatever a scrapper prefers to call him/herself is no skin off my nose. It is a free country.
And the area they create in? If the scrapper likes to call it an atelier, studio, or scrappin' hole (I love that, BTW), fine by me. My scrap area is known as my mental health break.
I think that all the labeling and namecalling merely serves to divide scrappers. So what if some scrappers like to use lots of purchased embellies (even, gasp, Jolies and theme stickers--sarcasm alert) and others prefer to be minimalist or create embelishments on their own. We are all doing the same thing--preserving our memories and photos in a way that is pleasing to ourselves.
I think that moreso than the "Suzy Scrapbookers" (of which I am on occasion), there are more obnoxious pretensious scrap celebs perpetuating the divisive attitude by dismissing what the Suzies do. It is no surprise to me that CK has begun to do more multi picture 4x6 LOs in their mags and idea books. There are more Suzies than artistes. And that is all good.
I agree with the poster that said it is the attitude of the "artiste" more than the label.
I've had some people shove the artiste label down my throat until I choke on it. Get over yourselves. As far as I'm concerned, every Kindergarten project my ds brings home is a work of art, which makes him an artist as far as I'm concerned. :)
The "Artist" lable bothers me a little bit. Here's why:
If there are scrapbookers who feel that they have taken their skill to a higher level than "Suzy" so be it, however using the artist lable really does give the impression of being superior.
It is that attitude that helps to weaken the image of the average scrapper.
Everyone says art is subjective, nobody has the right to say that someones creation does not qualify as art, fair enough.
On the other hand then it also does not allow for people to say anothers does not qualify. KWIM?
Why must an "artist" have to differentiate herself from the rest? If it does not matter what they call themselves then why must they if not to feel superior?
There is no other reason, than to give the impression of being elite and in some cases misleading. Scrapbooking talent does not neccessarily equal artistic talent.
Why do we choose scrapbooking as our passion, creative outle etc. and then feel the need to degrade our chosen hobby by feeling we must put a disclaimer on it. That we are not merely a scrapper but an "artist".
I have created non scrap related artwork in the past and been paid for it. But I am still a scrapbooker not an artist, my painting abilities are seperate from scrapbooking. I am confident enough with my abilities as a scrapper that I don't have to try and elevate myself to others.
Scrapbooking is not a derogatory term, and if it has become so, well, you can thank the "artists" for that
Although I make money teaching and designing, I no more consider myself an artist than Monet considered himself a house painter. Many of these gals use the labels to sell what they have. It is all an association thing.
I find this one of the most refreshing blogs I've read in a long time. It is honest and not pretentious. thank you
WELL SAID
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