What questions should you ask to an artist ?
The question "How long have you been painting?" often comes up when speaking with an artist. But behind this inquiry lies an implicit idea: the notion that an artist's legitimacy can be measured by their experience, which in turn is defined by the number of years they’ve been practicing. In other words, the more you practice, the more "valid" you are. While this reasoning may hold weight in certain fields, it’s worth questioning when it comes to art.
Experience: A Criterion Among Many
It’s true that experience is valued in many disciplines. However, can we reduce an artist’s worth to the duration of their practice? Take my personal example: I was born into a family of artists—my mother is a painter, my father a photographer—and I’ve been drawing and painting since I was old enough to hold a pencil or brush. Yet, there were periods in my life when I didn’t practice at all. I had other desires: traveling, studying, or exploring new horizons.
As a result, it’s difficult to quantify my artistic practice in continuous years. This raises a broader question: why do we feel the need to measure everything? Why should an artist’s value be tied to a simple quantitative metric like time? Such a perspective overlooks many essential aspects of what defines an artist: their creative drive, their core essence, and the message they seek to convey.
Asking the Right Questions
Instead of focusing on temporal criteria, why not steer our questions toward topics that truly capture an artist’s uniqueness? Here are some examples of questions I enjoy asking artists I meet:
What drives you?
What makes you feel alive?
What inspires you?
These questions open doors to authentic and enriching discussions. They free the artist from the constraints of time and highlight what makes them unique.
Beyond Time: Other Elements of Artistic Value
An artist is not defined solely by their years of experience but by a multitude of elements that enrich their journey, such as:
Art residencies they participate in,
Exhibitions, whether solo or group shows,
Collaborations with other artists or institutions,
And, most importantly, the distinctiveness of their vision and their perspective on the world.
These experiences shape an artist’s identity far more profoundly than the simple passage of time.
A Question to Go Further
So, the next time an artist inspires you, try moving beyond the question, "How long have you been painting?" Instead, ask them: Why do you create? You might uncover a part of their passion, their inspirations, and their unique universe that far surpasses the concept of time.