The AH Coffee Shop and Reading Room 09

[TheRedLantern]

Here's a question that's been on my mind. Do you think of yourselves as artists? Do you think of writing erotic fiction as an artistic effort?

I've informally asked a few people this, and I got one "yes", one "no", and one "I never thought about it."

 

[Duleigh]

Do you think of yourselves as artists? Do you think of writing erotic fiction as an artistic effort?

I used to say "No! This is a silly hobby," and I'd laugh off the trolls saying "Pity them, they're ignorant of how ignorant they are."

Then I sold a book. Then I sold several books. Then my books were on the Best Seller list. Its on a cheesey little web site but my books sold and I started getting flakier and thinking of it as an art.

Short erotic fiction is one thing, and the price is dodging trolls, it's a silly hobby. But when people hand you money and tell you how awesome you are, your brain starts working in a different direction.

 

[Statius]

I played cello - something you hold between your legs to scratch

I'm all seriousness though I love the cello. Bach's cello concertos are some of my favorite pieces. There is also a piece by Loreena McKennit called 'Ancient Pines' that's cello based (she does Celtic music for those who don't know).

 

[Statius]

Here's a question that's been on my mind. Do you think of yourselves as artists? Do you think of writing erotic fiction as an artistic effort?

I've informally asked a few people this, and I got one "yes", one "no", and one "I never thought about it."

No. It's a hobby and barely that currently, I've written so little lately, and I am not where near good enough to call myself an artist.

 

[Rustyoznail]

Here's a question that's been on my mind. Do you think of yourselves as artists? Do you think of writing erotic fiction as an artistic effort?

I've informally asked a few people this, and I got one "yes", one "no", and one "I never thought about it."

I don't think my stories are art, but I do spend time crafting them. Where's the line between the two? Dunno.

 

[Statius]

I don't think my stories are art, but I do spend time crafting them. Where's the line between the two? Dunno.

Good point. Probably different for everyone. For me it's quality, craftsmanship, ingenuity, and depending on the type of art, the meaning or the point made.

 

[TheRedLantern]

I am not where near good enough to call myself an artist

I don't think of skill as a prerequisite for being an artist. It's very useful for being a good or successful artist, but I don't consider it necessary. The desire to express and share a part of one's self is what, in my opinion, is important.

cheesey little web site but my books sold and I started getting flakier

I read "cheesey" and "flaky" in the same sentence and immediately wanted danishes.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Is what we do art? After much thought, the best answer I can come up with is a poem by Dylan Thomas.

In My Craft or Sullen Art

In my craft or sullen art
Exercised in the still night
When only the moon rages
And the lovers lie abed
With all their griefs in their arms,
I labour by singing light
Not for ambition or bread
Or the strut and trade of charms
On the ivory stages
But for the common wages
Of their most secret heart.

Not for the proud man apart
From the raging moon I write
On these spindrift pages
Nor for the towering dead
With their nightingales and psalms
But for the lovers, their arms
Round the griefs of the ages,
Who pay no praise or wages
Nor heed my craft or art.

 

[iwatchus]

Here's a question that's been on my mind. Do you think of yourselves as artists? Do you think of writing erotic fiction as an artistic effort?

I've informally asked a few people this, and I got one "yes", one "no", and one "I never thought about it."

Absolutely yes.

 

[NotWise]

Writing is a craft. Like many crafts, the elements of craft may express ideas that raise it to an art. It's the ideas in the words, not the words on the page, that make the difference.

 

[iwatchus]

I think of a craft as something the uses human capabilities to create something. If the something is created for aesthetic or personal reasons rather than pragmatic ones, it becomes an art. You can craft a walking stick from a branch. But if you take the effort to make it look good or have special meaning to you, it becomes an art. Not all art is good art, however. And some pure strokers may not count either.

 

[yowser]

For me it is an art. A low level art, but creation nonetheless. Storytelling I regard as an art, and this falls into that territory.

I suspect this is close to a lot of other differentiations: one example is sports vs. games. Is golf a sport? Takes coordination, focus, etc. but does it involve the whole body in any kind of vigorous way? My father was always indignant that it was considered a sport. 'It's a GAME!' Is Ultimate frisbee a sport? I'd say more than golf. But I suspect we can all argue about smut-writing as an art for at least another couple pages.

I take my writing seriously, even if my works aren't always serious. And I think a good percentage of us work hard on our stuff, trying to make it as good as we can. I'll call that art.

 

[NuclearFairy]

Here's a question that's been on my mind. Do you think of yourselves as artists? Do you think of writing erotic fiction as an artistic effort?

I've informally asked a few people this, and I got one "yes", one "no", and one "I never thought about it."

That's kinda like asking if pottery is utility or art, it really depends on what you're writing. If you're writing for enjoyment, whether your own or another, it's art. If you're writing for educational value, than it's not really art. Sooo, in that sense, erotic fiction is totally art.

 

[Statius]

Is what we do art? After much thought, the best answer I can come up with is a poem by Dylan Thomas.

In My Craft or Sullen Art

In my craft or sullen art
Exercised in the still night
When only the moon rages
And the lovers lie abed
With all their griefs in their arms,
I labour by singing light
Not for ambition or bread
Or the strut and trade of charms
On the ivory stages
But for the common wages
Of their most secret heart.

Not for the proud man apart
From the raging moon I write
On these spindrift pages
Nor for the towering dead
With their nightingales and psalms
But for the lovers, their arms
Round the griefs of the ages,
Who pay no praise or wages
Nor heed my craft or art.

So mad. Just reminds me I loaned my edition DT to someone and never got it back

 

[Candy_Kane54]

Sorry I'm late with the coffee today. There's a pot brewing now and the teapot is hot. There are cookies and pastries on the counter. Enjoy!

 

[stickygirl]

I'm all seriousness though I love the cello. Bach's cello concertos are some of my favorite pieces. There is also a piece by Loreena McKennit called 'Ancient Pines' that's cello based (she does Celtic music for those who don't know).

I’ll be sure to check out loreena. I enjoyed playing cello but I was never that good. It’s not exactly something you can pull out at a campfire. I went a number of years without a musical instrument but finally bought an acoustic guitar. I’m not very good at that either

 

[Statius]

I’ll be sure to check out loreena. I enjoyed playing cello but I was never that good. It’s not exactly something you can pull out at a campfire. I went a number of years without a musical instrument but finally bought an acoustic guitar. I’m not very good at that either

Better than everyone (including me) who never tried!

 

[stickygirl]

Writing is a craft. Like many crafts, the elements of craft may express ideas that raise it to an art. It's the ideas in the words, not the words on the page, that make the difference.

Does your writing provoke an emotional reaction? Then it’s art. Knitting is a craft, so is wood turning but neither leave me pondering what I’ve seen the next day.

 

[NuclearFairy]

Does your writing provoke an emotional reaction? Then it’s art. Knitting is a craft, so is wood turning but neither leave me pondering what I’ve seen the next day.

I've seen some knitting projects that left me wondering wtf did I just see for several months. Though granted, those weren't so much art as overly proud beginners.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

Well, I am vexed. On track for a last-minute-but-that's-normal submission to the Halloween contest. As is my habit, I’d put it away for a while. When I opened it up this morning, what I’d thought was profound insight appears merely tangled and what was mature romance gently described is but senior whinging. Doubleplusunhappy. Teddy’s gonna get a whuppin’.

 

[iwatchus]

Sorry I'm late with the coffee today. There's a pot brewing now and the teapot is hot. There are cookies and pastries on the counter. Enjoy!

Is the back doing any better?

 

[MrPixel]

I'm all seriousness though I love the cello. Bach's cello concertos are some of my favorite pieces. There is also a piece by Loreena McKennit called 'Ancient Pines' that's cello based (she does Celtic music for those who don't know).

At least two of the Bach concertos have been arranged for bassoon, the only change is accounting for range differences. They're quite lovely. Beyond my skillset at the moment; I mostly laid-off bassoon during COVID since my woodwind quintet disbanded for obvious reasons.

Loreena McKennit used to appear in the Celtic-adjacent Pandora channel I usually have on. Haven't heard her selections in a while, which makes me think her contract with Pandora may have expired.

 

[NotWise]

Does your writing provoke an emotional reaction? Then it’s art. Knitting is a craft, so is wood turning but neither leave me pondering what I’ve seen the next day.

My writing isn't always intended to provoke emotional reactions. I'm drafting a letter about administrative definitions of "significant effect," and I don't expect anyone to get emotional over it.

As far as fiction is concerned, I don't think that an emotional reaction is a sufficient standard for calling something art. There are concepts and descriptions that trigger fundamental reactions; arousal, sympathy, hatred, etc. We know what they are, and writing to trigger the predictable reaction is more like engineering than art.

Fiction becomes art when it invokes reactions that aren't automatic or predictable. It's art when it changes the way people think, or what they think about.

I know this is a higher standard for art than writers here usually want. We mostly want to think of ourselves as artists, and that standard makes it harder to be an artist. Personally, I'm happy to think of myself as a craftsman. Art is in the eye of the beholder. It's when a body of readers sees something beyond the craft in what I've written that maybe it can be called art.

 

[NotWise]

I've seen some knitting projects that left me wondering wtf did I just see for several months. Though granted, those weren't so much art as overly proud beginners.

My wife knits, and she's no beginner. She knitted items for our grandson that she created without a pattern, using advanced techniques to mix multiple yarns and colors. They should be framed.

 

[NuclearFairy]

My wife knits, and she's no beginner. She knitted items for our grandson that she created without a pattern, using advanced techniques to mix multiple yarns and colors. They should be framed.

Cool. I've never been big into knitting or crochet, just embroidery, but my mom is, and she always follows a pattern. A couple years ago she even crocheted me a dragon bigger than I am. I'd definitely call that art, but she also called it a crochet sculpture, so I don't think it would fit in with the is this art question