Thank you for your report!
We have received your report and it is currently under investigation by a forum moderator.
Hands Up! Who Juxtaposes? - Artists' Language
Welcome to the forum.
Here you can discuss all things art with like-minded artists, join regular painting challenges, ask questions, buy and sell art materials and much more.
Make sure you sign in or register to join the discussions.
Hang on Studio Wall
This is a Studio member-only feature!
Join our Studio membership and save your favourite Painters Online content, from gallery artwork to step-by-step guides, to your own online mood boards. Create your go-to place for inspiration and learning. Plus, members can also enjoy a range of exciting features including monthly art videos and a digital magazine library.
If you are already a Studio member, simply login to your account.
Not a Studio member? Why not try our free 30-day trial - no commitment, no credit card required
Message
Posted
It's one of the few times I don't mind art jargon - it has a very specific meaning.
Even a thesaurus can't give a word with that same direct meaning.
place or deal with close together for contrasting effect.The nearest synonyms are
bring together place in proximity set side by sideBut they don't include the ".. for contrasting effect" (note that just placing in proximity is not juxtaposition if there's no contrasting effect) Don't take offence here - but the word isn't all that esoteric, it's just that you didn't know it... now that it's added to your vocabulary you can use and understand it better. Art IS full of waffle.. but sometimes there are words that need to be understood to better understand the whole field of art itself. It's like photography -- laymen don't understand f-stops and the relationship to shutter speeds... once you learn it and understand it then you wonder how you didn't see it before. As an aside - it's always good to expand your vocabulary (maybe not in the direction of waffle).
Posted
Yes Michael I use "less is more" unfortunately - I am sure we are all guilty of something. Actually I did know the meaning of juxtapose, if nothing else. I just see it appear quite often and I feel that there is something not authentic about me if instead of using this word , someone asks me if I juxtaposed and I say "nah - I just slapped it on next to the last bit". Let's face it I have to sound the part when I am "discovered" and become famous!!!
Posted
Many of you will remember Mick Saunders, "Bloodaxe" - so well named - who passed away last year (I lose track of time: was it rather longer ago? I miss him, I know that.). He hated all expressions that weren't in plain English - so alla prima, en plein air, contre-jour, imprimatura, even chiaroscuro (a long word, but quite a useful one given it conveys in one word what would otherwise take at least three to convey): he hated them all, and would say so at the drop of a hat. I have some sympathy with this, but I always thought he took it too far - it's not these words that annoy me, because they do at least mean something; it's flowery twaddle, such as that which it seems art students are taught as part of their marketing technique. It may impress the gallery curators and corporate buyers, but it leaves me seething.
As does plain stupidity - Syd's dismissal of the cauliflower argument is right: you can produce a back-run deliberately if you want to, but as for it contributing to cloud effects - how about just painting the ruddy clouds? Back-runs are invariably a damn' nuisance, and the sky is one of the worst places for them - they're the mark of ineptitude, even though we've probably all produced them at one time or other; let us not pretend any different.
To be honest, I think the juxtapose issue is a bit personal to Adele: it's just irritated her because she's seen it once too often. Many things annoy me much more - actually, it doesn't annoy me at all: but - I don't know how old you are, Adele, and far be it from me to ask, but I fear irritations increase exponentially (there's another word to take against!) as we get older - I can get fantastically grumpy about fairly trivial things; but I suspect there's a stage beyond this, reached by Syd and perhaps by North Light/Sylvia - a spring chicken - a realization that nothing matters very much, and most things don't matter at all. Perhaps we'll both achieve this state of serenity in due course.
Posted
To be honest Robert, my post was meant in a more lighthearted vein. I subscribe to a few art magazines and that word appears quite a bit. Don't mind admitting I celebrated my 65th birthday last week. Thought it would be interesting to hear what other artists thought. In fact I have a lot of "arty" thoughts running through my brain, which I will probably air over the following months. Nothing bothers me to that extent except of course how to tackle my next painting!
Posted
Wow, I've just lost a fair few minutes to the generator in the link; fab!
When I did my Foundation course there was one tutor from a certain trendy part of London who used those type of quotes all the time, and also felt it his duty to utterly slate anything that we had produced that term. He didn't really understand the idea of constructive criticism. (The rest of them were lovely).
I admit I did find myself saying to someone the other that that I wasn't sure how to 'resolve' something in a painting, but since it was DH and he just looked at me blankly. I quickly reverted to plain English!!
Posted
Glad you liked it Tina. Looking at it in reverse it is possible to translate art speak back into sensible English. Here's another web site that will help you do just that (I particularly like the definition of juxtaposition - it puts all the debate to rest!) :
http://pennytristram.co.uk/2013/10/arty-bollocks-decoder-what-they-say-vs-what-they-mean/
Posted
Concise Bollocks As spatial replicas become distorted through diligent and critical practice, the viewer is left with an insight into the darkness of our world.HAHAHAHA!! I think I know a few arty reviewers who've used that fun thing!
Adele, sorry. DH is Darling Husband !Trouble is... it's also the short for D**k Head. It's good - when he annoys you, you can refer to him as DH... and still be accurate?
Edited
by DippyDipper
Posted
I must say that I don't and never have had any issues generally, a few exceptions perhaps, and terms like 'alla prima' and 'en-plein-air' are so commonplace and used by the editor's of TA, LP and A&I as a matter of routine that I feel quite comfortable using them, and WILL continue to use them.
Frankly, I have more important things to occupy my time, and thank goodness I don't have time to get involved with petty trivialities, if you don't like them, don't use them, how simple is that.