Is Writing an Art or a Trade? Two Opinions, Two Views

Written by James - 14 Comments

The Pen is Just a Sword – Jamie’s View

I don’t like being called an artist. I don’t really like other writers calling themselves artists, either. I’m not even crazy about web designers calling themselves artists. Come to think of it, I don’t really feel anyone with a computerized job is an artist.

I know, I know. It’s an outrage. How dare I say that the people who think they are artists aren’t artists. I get it. You can rant at me and tell me how ignorant I am later.

How’d this all get started, you ask? Well, Harry often calls himself an artist. I raise an eyebrow, give him a skeptical look and think to myself, “Dude. Get down of your pedestal before you hurt yourself. You’re not an artist; you’re a graphic designer.”

I’m not an artist either (in the world according to James). I am a writer. Or sometimes an entrepreneur. Whichever shoe fits at the time. Anyways.

An artist, to me, is someone like Leonardo DaVinci or Van Gogh or Shakespeare. They did great things. These guys created these amazing, beautiful sculptures and paintings and symphonies that were beyond comparison.

Even that’s not quite my definition. I can’t even really put my finger on what “artist” means to me, but it usually things that really don’t do much besides look cool or sound good.

“But graphic designers make things look cool! We are artists,” you’ll shout. Well, no, not the way I see it. Graphic art is pretty cool and sure, you make beautiful stuff, but it’s not really art. It’s a skill you learned and a job you do. Art should take YEARS, not a couple of days using a good program.

That’s the way I see writing: It’s a skill I learned and a job I do. I consider writing a trade, not an art. There really isn’t much that is artistic in writing a great article or some winning sales copy. It’s just expertise, knowledge and skills. No?

Imagine a plumber that looks at the frame of a house to visualize the whole system of pipes and network of water flow gadgets. He makes a flushing toilet a reality.

“That’s not art.” I can hear the snorts. “That’s a trade.” Why isn’t it art? That plumber has to stand there and visualize the whole shebang, plot it out and use his talents with a pipe wrench to make it all happen. The plumber might say his job is a work of art. The guy next door might call it a trade. The boss might just call it a job.

I pulled up the Princeton dictionary site and did a few searches for some definitions. (Hey, I was confusing myself. I needed the pros.) I wanted to figure out just what a web content writer was – an artist or a tradesman.

Here’s what I found:

Craft/Trade

• S: (n) trade, craft (the skilled practice of a practical occupation) “he learned his trade as an apprentice”
• S: (n) trade, craft (the skilled practice of a practical occupation) “he learned his trade as an apprentice”
• S: (n) craft, trade (people who perform a particular kind of skilled work) “he represented the craft of brewers”; “as they say in the trade”

As far as I’m concerned, that sounds about right.

Artist

• S: (n) artist, creative person (a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination)

Meeehhh… okay, maybe.

Art

• S: (n) art, artistic creation, artistic production (the creation of beautiful or significant things) “art does not need to be innovative to be good”; “I was never any good at art”; “he said that architecture is the art of wasting space beautifully”

Well. I’m not sure the copywriting for a webpage can really be considered beautiful and significant…

Skill

• S: (n) skill, accomplishment, acquirement, acquisition, attainment (an ability that has been acquired by training)

That sounds about right, too. So we have craft, trade and skill. Fits the bill for graphic designers, too.

For fun, I looked up “writer” to see what Princeton thought I was – artist, skilled individual, crafter or tradesman. Here’s the results:

Writer

• S: (n) writer, author (writes (books or stories or articles or the like) professionally (for pay))
• S: (n) writer (a person who is able to write and has written something)

Huh. I’m just a guy who can write for money. Kind of humbling, isn’t it? Still, it sure doesn’t sound like art to me…

From Writing to Graphic Design – Harry’s View

• The graduate with a Science degree asks, “Why does it work?”
• The graduate with an Engineering degree asks, “How does it work?”
• The graduate with an Accounting degree asks, “How much will it cost?”
• The graduate with a Fine Arts degree asks, “Do you want fries with that?”

This is a running joke between my roommate Pete (who, by the way, is a structural engineer) and me. At first, I found it funny, but the humor went away quickly. Now the joke just earns Pete a stern look

Jamie’s views on art earned the same stern look.

Alright, my response was closer to outrage – just as James had predicted.

After I sat down and thought about what James was saying, though, I realized he wasn’t attacking me or saying my work wasn’t any good. He was simply asking – in his own way – what we each consider to be an art.

I think the word “art” and “artist” have been tossed about so much that the meaning is lost. Sadly, the words don’t carry any weight at all these days.

I learned about art when I was young. My dad was always drawing and painting. He’d attended Pratt in New York and has a Bachelor of Arts degree. He transferred his love of the arts to me.

I used to sit with his books for hours, copying the pictures in my own hand and learning about light, form and composition. By the time I graduated high school, I earned the title of best artist in my class. I went on to get my degree in Illustration from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

I didn’t touch a computer until ten years ago.

I never thought I’d be a graphic designer. My true passion is wildlife illustration. I had big dreams of doing illustration for a natural history museum or going on archaeological digs to draw the finds and the sites.

The reality was that illustration isn’t a money maker. You have to be extremely good just to be noticed. I never felt I was good enough. Looking back, I probably was. What I was lacking was the confidence to see the dream through.

Right at the time I graduated from college, computer graphics hit the scene. I didn’t think much of it, though, and many of the places I worked after graduation didn’t have computer graphics departments. Everything was done by hand. Computer graphics were still too new.

Years later, I discovered computers and applied my knowledge to technology. I had to adapt to a changing field.

I have very strong opinions regarding computer design and artists. Anyone can learn to use Photoshop or Dreamweaver to create an image or a website. This doesn’t make that individual an artist.

Graphic design has morphed into a skill that anyone can learn. To do it well, you need to know more than a program or two.

If you’re involved in the arts (acting, painting, dance, music, and yes, writing), you’re an artist. You’ve put years of blood, sweat and tears into your art. You deserve to be called an artist. While I don’t agree with everyone’s form of art (like modern art), it’s still art and an artist created it.

I believe this definition: “S: (n) artist, creative person (a person whose creative work shows sensitivity and imagination)” is correct. An artist uses sensitivity and imagination. No matter what project I’m working on, whether it’s a blog post or a portrait of a beloved pet, I put a lot of sensitivity and imagination into it.

I may never be as famous as Leonardo DaVinci or Michelangelo, but I’ve made my mark on the world in a small way through the illustrations I’ve completed for clients. For me, “artist” isn’t just a title; it’s my way of life and has been so for nearly 40 years.

If that’s not an artist, I don’t know what is.

A note: Michelangelo hated being called a painter – he was a sculptor. Watch the 1965 film “The Agony and the Ecstasy” with Charlton Heston and Rex Harrison for the whole story.

 

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