Stand Out in the Art Scene

The influx of technology has opened up wide opportunities for people to be visual artists. No longer are we limited to just draw and paint with pencils and brushes.

The learning curve and the process has also been cut short. What used to be painted before can now easily be printed in tarpaulins in a just a matter of minutes.

A development such as this has its advantage and disadvantages. But one thing is clear if things are becoming easy, it also means that more and more people can do it. And if more and more people can do it, then the quality of works will be affected. Now the question is, what do the genuine artists need to do now to stand out in the art scene?

First thing? Artists should study the Fine Arts. When I say Fine Arts, I’m particularly referring to art history, art theories, the art movements and artist’s biographies. It’s a long list but learning history will make you realize that a lot of the things that we are doing now have been done before. History is a great teacher. It will also make you realize where we came from. The different influences, the struggles, the concepts and more are all there. There is just a lot of things to learn from studying the fine arts and you can start doing that by simply reading books or researching online.

The second suggestion is that one should be a lover of all the arts. This means that in order to be a legit artist you also have to open yourself up to the different arts: movies, books, theatre, music, architecture, etc.

Art is art no matter what the medium is. Learning from different artists will open up your mind. You don’t have to be technically knowledgeable about it. Just appreciate.

Last one, support your own local culture and arts scene. Why? Because right now you are part of the art community. It is in your interest for this community to be successful.

Art is often misunderstood and it needs support to survive. What better way to do it than for artists to support each other. It is the fellow artist who understands what other artists are doing. So if this is the case, then it should be natural for artists to support other artists. But sometimes our egos stop us from doing just that, so we should overcome that.

Mastering the skill is always important for artists but that is not the only thing. Studying theory, a lover of all arts and being active in the local art scene is essential as well.

Yes, in doing this, creating art has suddenly become difficult. And that level of difficulty is needed because it will separate the talent: the ones that are committed from the copycats.

About the author: N.M. CABANGBANG or “BANGBANG” has been writing about events, art and culture for MetroCebuNews since June 2014. He is a graduate of Bachelor of Fine Arts Major in Painting at the University of the Philippines Cebu and was the chairperson for two major student organizations, namely Fine Arts Student Organization (1997-1998) and Nagkahiusang Kusug sa Estudyante political party (1998-1999).

Since 2010, he has been an ART teacher for grade 6-10 at B.R.I.G.H.T. Academy.

He is also the singer/songwriter of the rock & roll band PALTIK which has released their self-produced album, “Here Come the Guns of the South”. He is happily married to his beautiful and talented wife, Rizza Del Castillo –Cabangbang and lives with their three beloved dogs: Choknut, Cream-O and Moby.