The Art Critic: Dave Hickey

March 8, 2008

"I think you want to learn about art because you had an experience of some sort - a totally non-redemptive but vaguely exciting experience, like brushing up against a girl with big boobs in the subway" - Dave Hickey.
[sorry for posting this sexist quote, no bad intent from my part - Miguel]

Perhaps the most famous art critic in the USA, Dave Hickey. Agree or disagree with him, at least one can surely say that he is opinionated -is there an art critic who is not? - and he is "[in]famous" for his strong arguments against the role of academics in art.

He was the recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship in 2001. The MacArthur Fellows Program awards talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction.

At the annual convection of Arts in America, Dave Hickey, gave an interesting speech at the Innovator Series of "Risk and Reward: Balancing Acts in Arts and Community" [You will need to scroll down at this link to find the the audio recording of the speech]. There you will listen some interesting commentaries about "education" and its role in the understanding and appreciation of art. More about him can be found at a recent interview with Dave Hickey published at Believer Magazine.

My advice is always to make a lot of art; to make a lot of art, then look at what you have made and then think about what you have done. If you think first, you will never do anything or you will do something boring. Art doesn’t exist until the artist has finished making it. The differences between one’s responses as a critic, teacher, dealer and curator are as follows: As a critic I presume the art is finished and on purpose. As a teacher, I presume the art needs work. So the same work that I might like as a critic, I might find wanting as a teacher, simply because my rule for looking at student art is: if you’re not sick don’t call that doctor. As a dealer you’re looking for quality, of course, but you’re also looking for evidence of the artist’s work habits and commitment to a long-term career. As a curator you’re looking for what fits.

Thirty-five thousand MFAs a semester, 90 percent of whom never make another work of art.

With the artists, I don’t teach, I coach. I can’t tell them how to make art. I tell them to make more art. I tell them to get up early and stay up late. I tell them not to quit. I tell them if somebody else is already making their work. My job is to be current with the discourse and not be an asshole. That’s all I wanted in a professor.- Dave Hickey.

If you are more interested about Dave's thinking and opinions on art, take look at the two books he published, "Air Guitar" and "Invisible Dragon".

Miguel Garcia-Guzman

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