So I went to an art gallery Monday near my favorite art store and was shocked at the conversation I walked in on. These two assholes where bitching about this amazing Mexican artist who had some painting hanging up. They felt the gallery should have "less immigrant art and more American." Such bullshit! I'm so tired of 4th or 5th generation Americans complaining about immigrants taking their spot. I'm a first generation American. My family worked very hard to come to this country and my dad earned everything he got. No one gave him anything.
The art work is so fickle without immigrant bashing. All I have ever managed in my time is only a few nice shows and I think that is pretty good. I would love to have more but sometimes it is hard to not be put into art pockets. Some galleries only like to show work with people with very milk toast artists. I once had a gallery head tell me " this older gentleman is amazing. He is white back paints like a black man." I honestly didn't know how to take that. I wasn't sure what response to give to such a statement as she walked me past the large gallery is work was going to go up in to the small hallway she called a gallery I was to put my art up in. That was years ago and I haven't visited that gallery since. I'm a West Indian, Portuguese/Latino =brown person who was crushed by the idea that I was being put in a hallway for a guy who painted like the gallery director thought was a great impression of what I painted like. hmmmm
I did go see his work that week. It was ok. Not amazing but nice. I was happy for him as artists should be for each other but I couldn't help but hear those words dance around me ears as I looked as his work. It crushed my spirit a little for a few weeks. This was years ago and I have moved on but yesterday made me think of it. Also I told those guys they were jealous assholes and they needed to paint harder rather bitch.
I meant to paint yesterday but the mind journey left me feeling drained.
