There’s a woman named Judith Scott who produces all kinds of “fiber art”, which isn’t really remarkable in itself (unless you happen to find that the artworks speak to you in a wway that they simply don’t speak to me…). Nothing remarkable at all, actually, can be said about her, except… she’s got Down’s Syndrome, severe mental handicaps, some physical handicaps too. And she very likely has no concept of art that would be recognizable to us. And yet she works at her “creations” with all the diligence of a less-handicapped artist, and sometimes more. She has spent ten years creating these things, and I have to wonder whether it matters how she understands what she is doing. And yet… this is a profoundly important question. If she has no idea of what is art, but her work is art, then how do we draw the line between any random human creation and a work of art? It’s difficult to say, of course. But I really don’t know what to think. Maybe Marvin will have something to say about it over on the other site? If you have any ideas, I’d love to read your comments.
