Why they stopped calling themselves "artists"

There are no quality standards in Art
How can I consider myself an artist if I don’t know what that is? Every time I hear this word my stomach unfailingly turns. Nobody knows what it is because
Agustina Caruso
I was in the wild for many years
I started drawing when I was a little girl. I had a lot of interest in studying faces and portraying them. Especially older people, perhaps because their faces showed that
Ruth Lønne
Art is the salvation for the talentless
I don’t call my work art. The reason is simple: all fields that the ideas of Art have touched, have crumbled to dust. From modern architecture, modern concert music, to
Öde Nerdrum
The craft is not dead!
I started studying on my own, attending workshops, and copying photographs in a painter’s studio. I knew that to progress from there I needed a mentor. That is how I
javier
I am not going to follow art trends or be original
In the name of kitsch there is a language to be learned, a language that is easily understood. Kitsch should not be mistaken for camp; kitsch is a literal perspective
Tara Atefi
I found myself as an outsider, rejected by mainstream galleries
In the 1980s I understood that I was a storyteller. I came to love the skillful dramas of the Old Masters like Caravaggio, Ribera, and Kollwitz. I traveled across the
Jeremy Caniglia
Art professors said my work looked “too Renaissance”
Some years ago I went to Florence to study classical painting and was a student at Accademia delle belle arti di Firenze for some time, which included many absences as
Marjan Bakhtiarikish
The art historian fired all the teachers at the university
I have studied in two art universities to learn how to draw and paint. In the first one they taught me how to hang threads between eassels to recreate a
Melisa Calabria
She told me my good paintings were bad
When I went to Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art I recall an instructor that tried to convince me that my good paintings were painted badly, and my bad paintings were
Leigh Meinhart
Alien to the so-called art world
Late afternoon. One of the most important Art galleries in town: finally the appointment with the gallerist. “I’m very proud to be here and have the opportunity to show you
Massimo Tizzano
I wanted to paint classical but the Art folks said that I should “evolve”
During my childhood, I tried to imitate the work of Juan Luna’s ‘Spolarium’  by sketching from an old Philippine History book. I was amazed by the work of Juan Luna,
Kim Vale
Kitsch is the marriage of craft and ideas
When I was 12 years old I copied Raphael’s portrait of Pope Gregory in colored pencils for a school project. It was for history class, not art, and it wasn’t
Alex Rydlinski
For years I tried to find a word describing what I loved
I was an artist — for one day — and I enjoyed the experience. It was in Berlin in the early ‘90s, at this devastated house in the former east,
Boris Koller
The curator told me to remove my paintings because they were “inappropriate”
I started painting at 10 years old, when my father gave me my first oil paint and brushes. That same day I painted a medieval street at night; narrow, with
Patricia Navarro
More than one teacher encouraged me to quit this “constrained style”
Happiness came to me the day I got the opportunity to become a student at the Nerdrum School. It was an immediate confirmation of the values I was seeking. There
Monika Helgesen
“But, my dearest… that would be unoriginal…”
The year was 1997. I had apprenticed with Odd Nerdrum for more than six months and I was struggling with a self-portrait. I tried several compositional solutions to no avail.
Jan-Ove Tuv
“You could try to get a job making Romance Novel covers”
“You could try to get a job making Romance Novel covers,” my Art professor told me during our midterm critique. I sat in the middle of the class in front
Luke Hillestad
Everyone could be called an artist
After I graduated from my MFA, I figured out what it is that I do. I love to follow the great master painters, so I called myself a “painter”. This
Guizi Gao
Someone had stabbed my painting and left the weapon
I have a disease; a burning need to create and the desire to improve to become the best I can be. I want to craft something beautiful, something timeless. At
Kristine Onsrud
“Miguel, what does art mean?”
My father always told me about his admiration for the work of Michelangelo, especially the paintings in the Sistine Chapel. From a very young age I felt a deep admiration
Miguel Garnica

Kitsch is a symbol of the chain of generations, covering the raptures between past and present.

— Thomas Elsaesser, film historian