FEBRUARY 2018 PREMIERE ISSUE
Welcome to the premiere issue of the Artists Are Always Right online journal! The first of many, I hope. Like most creative endeavors,
it took much longer to bring into reality than I thought it would. A simple online journal for artists. Seemed easy enough. Yeah, right!
Artists can sell themselves on any idea if it appears creatively important.
Anyhow, after much trial and error, it's finally here. I can relax for a long time. Maybe even a couple of days before I begin working on
the next issue.
To begin with, I would like to explain the two-part premise behind the Artists Are Always Right journal. So here goes.
First of all, it is widely believed that the right hemisphere of the human brain is the place where creativity originates. The region where
imagination reigns. Perhaps even the epicenter where the muse plug-in. Therefore, Artists Are Always Right. It's as simple and as
complicated as that.
Artists Are Always Right will not concern itself with the goings-on taking place in the left hemisphere of the brain where all the facts
and figures and analytical thoughts are found. While it is certainly true that artists use the left hemisphere as much as anyone
(calculating color formulas, f-stops and shutter speeds, kiln temperatures and times and the like), Artists Are Always Right will
concentrate on the creative aspects of our work. No technical stuff allowed here! There's plenty of technical information out there
already in the form of books, classes and other journals.
The second part of the premise regarding the naming of this journal is this. No matter what artists create, they are always right!
No artistic result can be wrong if it is the intent of the artist. Not everyone may love it, or even like it, but it's not wrong if it's right for
the artist who created it. Unlike a meteorologist who can be wrong if their forecast proves to be incorrect, an artist owes no
allegiance to facts. Unless, that is, we consider the artistry of a documentary filmmaker conveying a factual story or some other form
of art doing so.
My primary goal for this journal is to bring artists of various disciplines together in one unifying place. This roster of artistic disciplines
includes, but is not limited to (drum roll please and in random order) Photographers, Actors, Painters, Comedians, Musicians,
Potters, Architects, Sculptors, Designers, Watercolorists, Singers, Poets, Dancers, Filmmakers, Writers and Illustrators.
I want Artists Are Always Right to be a celebration of all artists and their creativity.
Creativity is extremely important to me. It should be of paramount importance to everyone. Without artists and the creativity they
express, this world would be a very dark place! Even more so than it is. Without the positive aspects of art, there would be no
escape from the negative elements of humanity. In the information age in which we live, we all know that there is far too much
destruction in the world and that creating is so much more…constructive!
In case you're wondering, let me assure you that Artists Are Always Right is in no way intended to be a political statement! I don't
care if you're a left-wing liberal or a right-wing conservative. That sort of left or right thinking has nothing whatsoever to do with
Artists Are Always Right. We'll leave the hotbed political viewpoints and arguments to the politicians and the myriad of political
forums geared towards that kind of thought.
And while I'm on the subject of what Artists Are Always Right is not, let me state here and now that this journal is not a blog.
My apologies to all the hard-working, intelligent bloggers out there, but I've never even liked the term. It reminds me of a 1950's
sci-fi movie, Attack of the Blog, or something like that which, if made today, would of course be followed-up with Return of the
Blog, then Son of the Blog, and maybe even That Darned Blog. They'll milk a commercially viable franchise until the cows come
home (pun intended).
I personally don't care for complicated websites that are over-loaded with visual elements. Life is complicated enough! Therefore,
you won't be confronted with any flashing lights, irritating pop-up ads, or other bells and whistles here. My goal was to simplify the
design of the Artists Are Always Right journal and allow the featured artist and their work to be the star. Not the website itself.
Oh, one last thing about the design of this website. You may have already noticed it if you're trying to look at it on your smart phone.
I chose not to optimize Artists Are Always Right for small mobile devices. I made this decision for one simple reason. I believe that
art shouldn't be shrunk down to such a small size. To me, doing so is an insult to the art. Some may disagree with my decision and
leave. That's okay. Better to loose a few viewers, in my opinion, than sacrifice quality or principles.
In a similar fashion, I am reminded of Alfred Stieglitz's gallery, An American Place, which was located on the seventeenth floor of a
building rather than in a ground-level, store-front location. Apparently, he believed that if people truly wanted to see the art he had on
display, they would come to him on his terms. He was right. They did.
Artists Are Always Right will...explore what it's like to be an artist, try and touch a nerve or two, expose the artist's emotion and
shed some light on what makes artists tick. I will serve as publisher and editor. I'll also clean-up and wash the dishes. That last part
is a little taste of my sometimes goofy humor which I'll interject into my writing as often as I think I can get away with it. In other
words, probably too often.
A new issue of the Artists Are Always Right journal will be published every month, each with the same basic formula as this premiere
issue. Some things may be changed or added as time goes by. We'll see how things go. This is the premiere issue, after all. At this
point it's an experiment, like all artistic concepts start out to be. You don't create any artistic project with a guaranteed outcome. You
work on it until it tells you what it wants to become. You listen to your inner voice. You listen to the muse. You watch it evolve. This, of
course, is what every artist has done since the beginning of time. From the first cave painting to a modern day digital hologram.
Art has a miraculous way of revealing itself to the artist and to the world. The rhythm of creativity flows according to its own dictates,
in its own way, and all art combined throughout time reveals an even greater purpose and reason for being. To illustrate this, I offer
the following abbreviated discourse.
Someone creates a painting. One painting leads to two. Two paintings lead to a thousand. Assemble enough paintings, or images,
and present them at 24 or more frames per second and you have a movie. Edit the series of images down to one spectacular
frame and you have a photograph. Tell a story and you have a script. Make a few of the lines rhyme, or not, and you have a poem.
Add a song or two and you have a score. Add some acting, some dancing, some singing and choreography and you have a
performance. Every artistic design and architectural element is an assemblage of intended order. Rising year upon year, century
upon century, and millennium upon millennium.
I decided to call this editorial column UP FRONT because it's meant to be the first thing you read in the journal. Sometimes simple
logic makes the most sense. This column will provide me with an ongoing opportunity to be up-front with the readers by expressing
my thoughts and observations about Artists Are Always Right and whatever else crosses my mind. Which brings me to perhaps the
most important UP FRONT message in this premiere issue.
As I said earlier, I want Artists Are Always Right to be a celebration all artists and their creativity. Any project such as this requires
different voices. Not just one. So, here is my official invitation to you all.
Artists Are Always Right welcomes submissions for the ARTISTS SPOTLIGHT as well as the FEEDBACK page. The ARTIST
SPOTLIGHT is the main feature of the journal. Think of this feature as thoughts from the artist's soul. How a particular artist feels.
How they think. What they want out of this life. What they want their art to accomplish. The ARTIST SPOTLIGHT feature is your
opportunity to be the shining star on the Artists Are Always Right journal! Both professional and amateur artists are welcome to
submit their stories.
This, being the premiere issue of the Artists Are Always Right journal, and yours truly being the publisher and editor, I decided
that the first ARTIST SPOTLIGHT would feature me. It seemed only right (pun intended). Besides, I just couldn't turn myself down.
I know how awful I would have felt if I rejected myself.
In all seriousness, this premier ARTIST SPOTLIGHT will serve as an introduction to what I'm about as an artist. It will also give
you a basic understanding of what I'm looking for in submissions, though I don't want you to feel obliged to write your own story
in the same style as mine. Artists should never copy other artists. In other words, be creative and unique!
The FEEDBACK page is open to all of our readers, artists and non-artists alike. FEEDBACK will be a great way for you to
express your opinions about the Artists Are Always Right journal, past ARTIST SPOTLIGHT features, etc.
You can find complete details on how to submit material to both the ARTIST SPOTLIGHT and the FEEDBACK page by
going to the SUBMISSIONS page.
Would you like to promote your talents as an artist or your art organization? The Artists Are Always Right ORDER page has all
the details on how to be included on the ARTISTS ROSTER or to have your organization listed in the RESOURCE CENTER.
These opportunities are great ways to attract more attention to you as an artist or the products or services for artists that your
organization offers. Keep in mind that the ARTISTS ROSTER and RESOURCE CENTER pages are just beginning, but we've
put in some sample listings in order to give you an idea of what they will be like in upcoming issues.
The ORDER page is also the place to go for purchasing an Artists Are Always Right T-SHIRT or SWEATSHIRT. Featuring the
exclusive design of the journal, Artists Are Always Right shirts are sure to get attention at your next club meeting, audition or
performance, art league party, gallery premiere, or even a trip to the grocery store!
The last stop in the journal is the LAST CALL column (just before I turn off the lights and lock up, so to speak). LAST CALL
will give me the opportunity to share my closing thoughts on the current issue as well as touch upon the upcoming one as well.
Well, that's about all for now. I had a lot to cover in this first UP FRONT editorial. Please excuse its length. Future ones will
probably be shorter. But then again, you never know. When I get going, it's hard to shut me up.
I sincerely hope that you enjoy this premiere issue of the Artists Are Always Right journal, and all those to come. I truly believe
that this journal can serve as a meeting place for artists of all disciplines. An opportunity to get together and share our common
bond. For it doesn't matter what artistic discipline we work in. We're really all the same. Each of us has something deep inside
that we want to express. That we are compelled to express!
I will close, for now, with this final thought. No true artist can deny the artistic force that originates in the right hemisphere of our
brain anymore than we can deprive ourselves the breath of life itself. If you agree, I hope you will join us.
Thank you.
Douglas Schwartz, Publisher and Editor
it took much longer to bring into reality than I thought it would. A simple online journal for artists. Seemed easy enough. Yeah, right!
Artists can sell themselves on any idea if it appears creatively important.
Anyhow, after much trial and error, it's finally here. I can relax for a long time. Maybe even a couple of days before I begin working on
the next issue.
To begin with, I would like to explain the two-part premise behind the Artists Are Always Right journal. So here goes.
First of all, it is widely believed that the right hemisphere of the human brain is the place where creativity originates. The region where
imagination reigns. Perhaps even the epicenter where the muse plug-in. Therefore, Artists Are Always Right. It's as simple and as
complicated as that.
Artists Are Always Right will not concern itself with the goings-on taking place in the left hemisphere of the brain where all the facts
and figures and analytical thoughts are found. While it is certainly true that artists use the left hemisphere as much as anyone
(calculating color formulas, f-stops and shutter speeds, kiln temperatures and times and the like), Artists Are Always Right will
concentrate on the creative aspects of our work. No technical stuff allowed here! There's plenty of technical information out there
already in the form of books, classes and other journals.
The second part of the premise regarding the naming of this journal is this. No matter what artists create, they are always right!
No artistic result can be wrong if it is the intent of the artist. Not everyone may love it, or even like it, but it's not wrong if it's right for
the artist who created it. Unlike a meteorologist who can be wrong if their forecast proves to be incorrect, an artist owes no
allegiance to facts. Unless, that is, we consider the artistry of a documentary filmmaker conveying a factual story or some other form
of art doing so.
My primary goal for this journal is to bring artists of various disciplines together in one unifying place. This roster of artistic disciplines
includes, but is not limited to (drum roll please and in random order) Photographers, Actors, Painters, Comedians, Musicians,
Potters, Architects, Sculptors, Designers, Watercolorists, Singers, Poets, Dancers, Filmmakers, Writers and Illustrators.
I want Artists Are Always Right to be a celebration of all artists and their creativity.
Creativity is extremely important to me. It should be of paramount importance to everyone. Without artists and the creativity they
express, this world would be a very dark place! Even more so than it is. Without the positive aspects of art, there would be no
escape from the negative elements of humanity. In the information age in which we live, we all know that there is far too much
destruction in the world and that creating is so much more…constructive!
In case you're wondering, let me assure you that Artists Are Always Right is in no way intended to be a political statement! I don't
care if you're a left-wing liberal or a right-wing conservative. That sort of left or right thinking has nothing whatsoever to do with
Artists Are Always Right. We'll leave the hotbed political viewpoints and arguments to the politicians and the myriad of political
forums geared towards that kind of thought.
And while I'm on the subject of what Artists Are Always Right is not, let me state here and now that this journal is not a blog.
My apologies to all the hard-working, intelligent bloggers out there, but I've never even liked the term. It reminds me of a 1950's
sci-fi movie, Attack of the Blog, or something like that which, if made today, would of course be followed-up with Return of the
Blog, then Son of the Blog, and maybe even That Darned Blog. They'll milk a commercially viable franchise until the cows come
home (pun intended).
I personally don't care for complicated websites that are over-loaded with visual elements. Life is complicated enough! Therefore,
you won't be confronted with any flashing lights, irritating pop-up ads, or other bells and whistles here. My goal was to simplify the
design of the Artists Are Always Right journal and allow the featured artist and their work to be the star. Not the website itself.
Oh, one last thing about the design of this website. You may have already noticed it if you're trying to look at it on your smart phone.
I chose not to optimize Artists Are Always Right for small mobile devices. I made this decision for one simple reason. I believe that
art shouldn't be shrunk down to such a small size. To me, doing so is an insult to the art. Some may disagree with my decision and
leave. That's okay. Better to loose a few viewers, in my opinion, than sacrifice quality or principles.
In a similar fashion, I am reminded of Alfred Stieglitz's gallery, An American Place, which was located on the seventeenth floor of a
building rather than in a ground-level, store-front location. Apparently, he believed that if people truly wanted to see the art he had on
display, they would come to him on his terms. He was right. They did.
Artists Are Always Right will...explore what it's like to be an artist, try and touch a nerve or two, expose the artist's emotion and
shed some light on what makes artists tick. I will serve as publisher and editor. I'll also clean-up and wash the dishes. That last part
is a little taste of my sometimes goofy humor which I'll interject into my writing as often as I think I can get away with it. In other
words, probably too often.
A new issue of the Artists Are Always Right journal will be published every month, each with the same basic formula as this premiere
issue. Some things may be changed or added as time goes by. We'll see how things go. This is the premiere issue, after all. At this
point it's an experiment, like all artistic concepts start out to be. You don't create any artistic project with a guaranteed outcome. You
work on it until it tells you what it wants to become. You listen to your inner voice. You listen to the muse. You watch it evolve. This, of
course, is what every artist has done since the beginning of time. From the first cave painting to a modern day digital hologram.
Art has a miraculous way of revealing itself to the artist and to the world. The rhythm of creativity flows according to its own dictates,
in its own way, and all art combined throughout time reveals an even greater purpose and reason for being. To illustrate this, I offer
the following abbreviated discourse.
Someone creates a painting. One painting leads to two. Two paintings lead to a thousand. Assemble enough paintings, or images,
and present them at 24 or more frames per second and you have a movie. Edit the series of images down to one spectacular
frame and you have a photograph. Tell a story and you have a script. Make a few of the lines rhyme, or not, and you have a poem.
Add a song or two and you have a score. Add some acting, some dancing, some singing and choreography and you have a
performance. Every artistic design and architectural element is an assemblage of intended order. Rising year upon year, century
upon century, and millennium upon millennium.
I decided to call this editorial column UP FRONT because it's meant to be the first thing you read in the journal. Sometimes simple
logic makes the most sense. This column will provide me with an ongoing opportunity to be up-front with the readers by expressing
my thoughts and observations about Artists Are Always Right and whatever else crosses my mind. Which brings me to perhaps the
most important UP FRONT message in this premiere issue.
As I said earlier, I want Artists Are Always Right to be a celebration all artists and their creativity. Any project such as this requires
different voices. Not just one. So, here is my official invitation to you all.
Artists Are Always Right welcomes submissions for the ARTISTS SPOTLIGHT as well as the FEEDBACK page. The ARTIST
SPOTLIGHT is the main feature of the journal. Think of this feature as thoughts from the artist's soul. How a particular artist feels.
How they think. What they want out of this life. What they want their art to accomplish. The ARTIST SPOTLIGHT feature is your
opportunity to be the shining star on the Artists Are Always Right journal! Both professional and amateur artists are welcome to
submit their stories.
This, being the premiere issue of the Artists Are Always Right journal, and yours truly being the publisher and editor, I decided
that the first ARTIST SPOTLIGHT would feature me. It seemed only right (pun intended). Besides, I just couldn't turn myself down.
I know how awful I would have felt if I rejected myself.
In all seriousness, this premier ARTIST SPOTLIGHT will serve as an introduction to what I'm about as an artist. It will also give
you a basic understanding of what I'm looking for in submissions, though I don't want you to feel obliged to write your own story
in the same style as mine. Artists should never copy other artists. In other words, be creative and unique!
The FEEDBACK page is open to all of our readers, artists and non-artists alike. FEEDBACK will be a great way for you to
express your opinions about the Artists Are Always Right journal, past ARTIST SPOTLIGHT features, etc.
You can find complete details on how to submit material to both the ARTIST SPOTLIGHT and the FEEDBACK page by
going to the SUBMISSIONS page.
Would you like to promote your talents as an artist or your art organization? The Artists Are Always Right ORDER page has all
the details on how to be included on the ARTISTS ROSTER or to have your organization listed in the RESOURCE CENTER.
These opportunities are great ways to attract more attention to you as an artist or the products or services for artists that your
organization offers. Keep in mind that the ARTISTS ROSTER and RESOURCE CENTER pages are just beginning, but we've
put in some sample listings in order to give you an idea of what they will be like in upcoming issues.
The ORDER page is also the place to go for purchasing an Artists Are Always Right T-SHIRT or SWEATSHIRT. Featuring the
exclusive design of the journal, Artists Are Always Right shirts are sure to get attention at your next club meeting, audition or
performance, art league party, gallery premiere, or even a trip to the grocery store!
The last stop in the journal is the LAST CALL column (just before I turn off the lights and lock up, so to speak). LAST CALL
will give me the opportunity to share my closing thoughts on the current issue as well as touch upon the upcoming one as well.
Well, that's about all for now. I had a lot to cover in this first UP FRONT editorial. Please excuse its length. Future ones will
probably be shorter. But then again, you never know. When I get going, it's hard to shut me up.
I sincerely hope that you enjoy this premiere issue of the Artists Are Always Right journal, and all those to come. I truly believe
that this journal can serve as a meeting place for artists of all disciplines. An opportunity to get together and share our common
bond. For it doesn't matter what artistic discipline we work in. We're really all the same. Each of us has something deep inside
that we want to express. That we are compelled to express!
I will close, for now, with this final thought. No true artist can deny the artistic force that originates in the right hemisphere of our
brain anymore than we can deprive ourselves the breath of life itself. If you agree, I hope you will join us.
Thank you.
Douglas Schwartz, Publisher and Editor
UP FRONT
