Editorial Note
This letter is based on a real email exchange with critic Jerry Saltz. It's not meant as an attack or provocation. Just a public reflection about what it means to speak from outside the system, and how that system often responds.
Dear Jerry,
Some days
ago, I sent you an article I wrote: The Dark Side of the Art World.
I didn’t
ask for anything. Not publication. Not approval. Just for you to read it.
Maybe.
Out of
about ten critics I contacted, you were the only one who replied. That
already puts you in a different category. And I appreciated it.
Your reply
was short, and sharp:
"Most
of this is obvious, half-told, romanized AI-generated BS, to me. But you could
be right. Good luck."
So here I am, writing back. Not to argue. But to open a bit more of the story.
About
"obvious" and "half-told"
If what I
wrote is obvious, then I wonder, why does it still feel like no one in the
system is really saying it?
Maybe it's
half-told because people like me don’t have access to the whole picture. We see
from the margins. But we still try to speak. That’s all we can do.
Also, why
you don’t tell the other half?
About
"romanized"
You’re
right. I’m romantic. I’m Italian… You know, we’re famous for pizza, pasta, and
a bit of melodrama. I’ll own that.
I believe in
flawed emotions. In putting something real out into the world even when it
doesn’t fit the trend or the market.
Maybe I sound naïve or maybe the art world could use a little more of that.
Sometimes
it’s not about dollars or strategy. Sometimes it’s about saying something you
believe. Even if no one claps (and this is my case).
About
"AI-generated BS"
I wonder
if you looked me up before saying that.
Anyway, No,
I didn’t use AI to write the article.
I wrote it
line by line. With doubt. With editing tools that help me with English spelling
and grammar (I use them also for Italian). With care. I jot down the phrases
that strike me in a notebook, as word addicts do. In the same notebook I copy
other artist's works at exhibitions and then rework them for my own art. I
learn from others… I even learn from my writing… I learned also from you.
But really,
isn’t that what writers do? Gather. Rewrite. Reuse. Using editing tools, asking
others for help.
Or maybe
you think that the topics are generated by AI… No, I read and study a
lot about contemporary art (AI could use me for that!!)… the good thing is… not
for money but for love. I suggest you read my small and insignificant contemporary
art blog.
Why I
Wrote You in the First Place
I wrote to
you because you came from outside. Because you talk a lot about giving space to
voices that aren’t polished or connected.
I thought
maybe, even if you didn’t like what I wrote, maybe it can inspire you to say
the half-untold. Definitely much better than I did, there is no comparison in
this regard.
Maybe you
did. Maybe not.
But I still
wanted to try.
I’ll
Share this letter
Yes, I’ll
post this letter. On my blog. On Substack. On social.
Not because
I want to be seen. But because so many artists feel what I feel. And they stay
silent… They HAVE to!... I don’t. I’ve got financial independence. I don't have
to work multiple jobs or accept the dynamics of the art world to survive, and
if this article is inconvenient and the art world as a whole wants to close its
doors to me... you know, I can just pay to visit a museum, and I’ll keep
painting, regardless.
Maybe this gives to my fellow artists, who produce art and others earn, a little voice too. But also awareness and maybe they can choose
One Last
Thing
I hope
you’ll read this, Jerry. Maybe you’ll reply again.
But don’t
feel obliged to look at my work. Not because I fear your judgment—
but because
I’ve felt that kind of silence before.
The kind
that doesn’t say “no,” but says nothing at all.
And still,
I’m here, writing.
Not to
impress. Not to win.
Just because
I love art… and people who make it.
Antonino La Vela
www.antoninolavela.it
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