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What does "artsy" mean???
I've always though of "artsy" as a negative. Sort of pseudo art. Trying to be an artist, but not really making it or not being very serious about it. Or perhaps trying to cultivate just the image of being an artist. In any case, not a good thing. But....it seems to be used as a positive a lot. Thoughts? Feb 21 06 09:26 am Link I thought of it as "not definable", not like a regular art. A painting was artsy if it was on the edge, and some people did not understand it. Just my view Charlie Feb 21 06 09:29 am Link In my world, "artsy" means left-brain. I have a friend who is a famous potter. She can't make a serious thought to save her life. She's just too "artsy." I have another friend that is a vocal teacher. She has no business sense whatsoever. Again, too "artsy." I don't think of "artsy" as being a negative. It's just a different way of thinking to me. It's the artistic side versus the academic side of the personality. I know you are referring to a type or quality of art, but these are just my thoughts on the word "artsy." Feb 21 06 09:32 am Link OK, both points taken... So why "artsy" and not "artistic"? And what would be the opposite of "artsy"? "Nerdy"?!? Feb 21 06 09:34 am Link Artsy= gallery showings where you get to sell your work for silly money to the nouveau rich who love spending their money on artsy stuff(breathe). Of course this is the short answer... I leave it to others to expand on it!!! OH....BTW...that was a random reply directed at absolutely no one (I'm just looking to increase my post #'s) Feb 21 06 09:46 am Link I was hoping to come back with a really succinct dictionary definition. But "Artsy" and arty are one in the same on dictionary.com and arty is a military term that has nothing to do with art. Art has so many definitions that it is relatively undefined. Maybe Webster's has a better handle on it. Artsy to me has always meant people who either produce unique art (vs paint by number artists) or people who dress in a manor that is unique, with an attempt of being fashionable. I have been accused of being artsy on occasion (usually as a compliment). Feb 21 06 10:07 am Link I confess, I have used "artsy" but more often "arty" to describe my work at times. I think it is art but who is to say? I don't think the artist can self-define her work as art, or certainly can't define it for anyone other than herself. And to call something "fine art" is just beyond the pale. I mean, if one thing is "fine" art, then what is just plain old everyday "art"? Art is borderline but "fine art" is too much. (Now, I also confess, if someone with a checkbook wants me to call my work "fine art" I will eagerly agree that it is as fine as the day is long. I mean, it might be too much, but what you call it really is, in my opinion, less important in this case than what it is.) If someone wants to hang it on their wall it might be fine art, on their refrigerator maybe only art. (Oh, god, trying to be amusing on MM is always hopeless.) But what they call it might be irritating but not a huge deal for me. So why "artsy"? Because it implies intent rather than accomplishment. I try to produce art, who am I to say whether I succeed? But arsty implies that I am trying for something. And THAT I can self-define, or self-report. So I can announce to the world that I am ATTEMPTING to produce art with appearing to take myself too seriously. Feb 21 06 10:10 am Link I also think of both artsy and artistic as goofy words that mean someone is trying too hard to make something like art. And has recognized his failure. Art is a perfectly good word. The others are wannabes. Artsy might be useful when making a commercial photograph that's supposed to fool viewers into thinking it is art, even though it's advertising Huggies. -Don Ivan, you gotta read Art & Fear. Yes, an artist is just like a plumber. Call yourself one, do the job, and you are one. And what you make is therefore art...or plumbing. Remember, there are such things as bad art...and plumbing. Feb 21 06 10:14 am Link As adjectives go, "artsy" and "edgy" enjoy their currency for affective social reasons, lol: one's a pejorative, the other's a compliment, but neither have substance. "Art" perfectly defines all, but "fine art" may differentiate art having no other than aesthetic purpose (in the making and viewing) from, say, "commercial art" that responds to other intentions. Down the line, like it or not, academics, critics, promoters, and audiences shuttle "art" into a large collection of reasonably stable bins: modern, post-modern, primitive, Dada, romantic, Baroque, and so forth. All art may be art all of the time, but shared characteristics across artifacts across time distill to recognizable ways of looking at and representing things. Feb 21 06 10:32 am Link Olaf I believe "artsy fartsy" is the term you're looking for. Feb 21 06 11:41 am Link Isnt artsy just another term for crafty? You know like the ladys that do glass painting and invite all the friends to drink cheap wine out of the same glass...and wait for somebody to say something about the paint job??? Feb 21 06 11:43 am Link artsy - (adjective) making a strong, affected, or pretentious display of being artistic or interested in the art. Feb 21 06 12:01 pm Link Well on the internet artsy=picture of nekkid girl poorly shot, composed and exposed and then converted to B&W with poor use of image manipulation software.  Feb 21 06 12:05 pm Link aguynamededdy wrote: Yes, that's how I've always thought of "artsy" or "arty" Feb 21 06 01:18 pm Link Howard Garcia wrote: LOL.."YES" to this comment too. If it's B&W, it HAS to be artsy, right? Feb 21 06 01:19 pm Link D. Brian Nelson wrote: I love that book. Read it years ago but haven't picked it up since. But I guess in the extreme I disagree. Eventually you are so bad at plumping that whether you call yourself a plumber or not, what you do is not plumbing. At least with plumbers, the county sends around a building inspector to DEFINE whether what I got in my house can be considered "plumbing" or not. If it is, then the guy who did it must have been a plumber. Feb 21 06 02:14 pm Link D. Brian Nelson wrote: I tend to think of 'artsy' as trying too hard, and believing that labeling something as 'art' makes it so. It tends to be "pretentious art"--art that's only perhaps artistic, but which clearly tries too hard. Kind of like kitch or camp, but in a slightly different direction. aguynamededdy wrote: That pretty much fits my usage/definition: affected and pretentious being the pertinent aspects distinguishing it from "normal" artistic. Feb 21 06 03:02 pm Link aguynamededdy wrote: or slang used by dumb people to mean 'gay' as in sexual orientation, or by more liberal people, to be associated with free, sort of like that metrosexual phase, he's very 'metro', he's just as 'artsy'. Feb 21 06 03:05 pm Link I think "Artsy" is a term linked to a commercial shot that has a bit more imagination involved....an attempt at Artistic or edgy, with an obvious link to advertise or promote something... Something like that... Albie Feb 21 06 03:06 pm Link |
