The Big Painting Horror Show

A formula is all you need.

BBC know this.

Because it's about ratings you see.

And once you got winning formula, for God's sake stick with it

Wonder what I'm writing about?

It's this 'The Big Painting Competition' currently on BBC

This is the trick, the formula.

You pick a subject; in this case painting

You recruit ten people

A couple of presenters

Mentors (do they know what this term means?)

Judges who decide who they should eliminate each week

Then they throw these poor souls to the wolves (the public) to vote on best artists of the week (whoever wins this is secured a place in next episode (what?)) Can you understand this part?

Read no further until you have seen an episode

Hi, You're back..

Well, let's go through this.

A Head Mistress and a Vicar

Two mentors, (read influencers) And that red jump suit?

Three judges, judging what? A two hour soul-less Blitzkrieg. And an ejection of one poor contender

A public vote for winner of the week. By whom and by how many?

How was it for you?

You enjoyed it?

Thought it was great?

Oh dear.

Well of course everybody is entitled to an opinion.

And here's mine.

1. Fundamentally, it draws upon dumbed down, populist ideas about what art is about
2. And it draws upon almost everybody's negative art experience at school
3. The thrill of being the best, the fear of being judged, being last, and rejected
4. And it puts us in our place (back into the classroom), dividing the cognoscenti from we who need to learn: They file in, they file out

If anything, surely, art is about the breath of our creative imagination and about reflecting existence in all its flaws and imperfections. Art is something which just goes on; an irrepressible desire to add to our world to better understand it and ourselves. And meaningful art? Yes, it is true that there is a percentage that moves us powerfully and which transcends time and which belongs to us all, irrespective of its origin or maker. It is so many things on so many levels, and we know this for sure;

if it did not exist only for one day on our planet, we would all be diminished in every aspect of our humanity.

So you can understand my loathing of programs such as this.

Creativity and art cannot exist in an atmosphere of judgement and authority, let alone competition.

So it will come as a relief to know that, in our workshops, we don't judge or compare. That we work together and collaborate and share experiences. That for us art and creativity are celebrations of our innate capacity as human beings to create beyond ourselves

For further details about our next retreat in May 11 to 15, 2017, go to www.starstone.org.

Alternatively contact us directly:

Michael Eldridge: email: Michael@starstone.org  tel/whatsapp +39 3283535358 (Italy)

Or Michelle Rummey: email: Mixxpix@gmail.com  
tel/whatsapp +44 7801 758771 (UK)

p.s. There is a discount offer available until 31st March