Needlepoint. Art & “Validity”

In the light of my post on Friday about Mr. XStitch asking if needlepoint was a “valid” medium I got asked by an artist who works in canvas embroidery among other mediums, what “valid” meant in this context.

It’s a good question and one that strikes at the heart of much of the question of art vs. crafting.

Art & Validity

I think “valid” is one of those words used by artists that essentially means that it is an appropriate medium for artistic expression.

Being the daughter of an artist and hanging out with many artists growing up, I’d say that anything can be used as a means of artistic expression. You can see that pretty clearly in much of what’s displayed as art these days. Think about the artist Christo for example. One of his works is a triangular structure made up of painted empty oil drums, pictured here. That’s art but an oil drum, painted or not, is hardly the medium one thinks of for artistic work.

If I put my cranky pants on (and I’m extremely cranky today), I’d say that “valid” is one of those terms that includes only the things the speaker wants it to include. Probably most people would agree that the materials of the fine arts are “valid” but if I’m not a fan of, say, stained glass, I could say that stained glass isn’t a “valid” medium, in spite of the fact that someone like Mucha, who all would agree is a valid artist, worked in stained glass.

I think that’s the other part of what bothers me about Mr. XStitch’s post. Besides the short-sighted view of needlepoint, I think he is using a strongly prejudicial term, valid, to label something.

If I say that I don’t think your chosen medium is “valid,” then I’m calling into question not just the medium, but your use of it as a means of expression, and your worth as an artist. In fact I’m saying that because your medium isn’t “valid,” you’re not really an artist at all.

Now while I’m sure that the majority of needlepointers, just like the majority of cross stitchers, don’t see themselves as artists, that’s probably true in any medium of most hobbyists. That doesn’t make the medium invalid, nor does it make the artist who uses it less of an artist or his work less art.

It’s, I’m sorry to say, a very narrow and prejudicial statement and something we need to fight against.

What Does this Mean for You?

You stitch needlepoint. You don’t do original work but buy canvases and charted designs. Sometimes you pick your own threads and stitches, sometimes you do what’s in the stitch guide or the instructions.

Are you an artist? I’d say that depends. To some extent being an artist is understanding and using the tools of your chosen medium appropriately. For us those tools are threads, stitches, and canvas.

Part of what an artist does is pick the right tools to create in reality what he sees in his head. When you pick threads & stitches you’re exercising your artistry to create the vision of the stitched piece in your head.

Another part of what an artist does is to engage in a conversation with the world. The work of art is the artist expressing an idea, saying something, to the people who see it. When you stitch something you add your ideas to what the designer expressed in the work.

The finished result isn’t just the designer’s ideas, but it’s also your ideas. You can see this really clearly if you look at the same piece stitched by two different stitchers. They’ll choose different threads and stitches. The two pieces say different things.

By those two lights, every needlepointer is an artist.

But for many people the thing that distinguishes an artist from a crafter is originality. And so if you stitch canvases you buy or charted projects, even if you change things, you are not creating something original The conversation isn’t you and the viewer, it’s three-sided, you, the artist and the viewer.

And that’s OK too. Most of us, even if it’s just part of the time, don’t create original pieces. But just because we work with a base designed by someone else doesn’t mean the end result isn’t art. And it doesn’t mean your part as the craftsman (not crafter) who brings that base to life isn’t one that should be honored & celebrated.

You create art. You are an artist.

What You Can Do about it

So what do we do about needlepoint being a Rodney Dangerfield (we don’t get no respect)?

One big thing is to go public. Stitch in public, use needlepoint in your life. Display needlepoint in your home. Start a Pinterest board showing your finished work. Start a Blog (tell me this stuff and I’ll let folks know).

But don’t be silent. Combat prejudice and this short-sighted view by stating loudly and often that your work us art.

When faced with visible evidence of what you do, reasonable people will start to see the light.