WHO ARE YOU TO CRITICIZE

When I decided that I wanted to pursue this "writing thing," Pat and Cile gave me my first words of wisdom. Their pearls of such went something like this: "You're an artist now and people are going to criticize your work. Some people are going to like it and some won't. You have to be ready - get thick-skinned - for the people who won't."

I don't think I've taken such warning to heart until recently. No, my work hasn't been brutally attacked in class (though, trust me, there have been many opportunities). But, having paid attention to"Elizabethtown" reviews as much as I have, and subscribing to ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY and PREMIER magazines where everything from movies, to tv shows to cds, to books are critiqued, it's hard to ignore the obvious: EVERYONE has an opinion about EVERYTHING.

I've got a built-in insecurity meter in my system when it comes to my work. It's very hard not to be self-deprecating when there are others who may be more experienced or more talented. At the same time, though, I can't help but be protective of something I've inserted so much of myself into. Art, in every form, is so subjective. The age-old saying goes, "Beauty is in the eye (or ear) of the beholder." I can't help but wonder, what if he or she who beholds, sees or hears no beauty in what I have to show? What's to become of me then?

All forms of art can be so very personal, and this is what I often find difficult to cope with. For every author who writes their life story for the world to know, is a person who finds opportunity for judgment; for every painter who introduces their innovative pieces, is a person who says it's all bullshit; for every musician whose song is played on the radio, is a so-called expert who says they don't come close to this so-and-so legend. How can someone who has put so much of their heart and soul into something handle that chance of being told it's not enough, it's nothing new, it's nothing special? Pharell Williams was on the radio this morning and he said it's one of the most difficult things about an artform like music. You create something, with every drop of sweat and tear you have, and you love it for everything you've put into it. Then you have to hand it over to someone else, share it with others...and you can't account for what they'll do to it then.

Cameron Crowe, one of many talented directors whose visions are reflected on the big screen and then later engraved in our psyches, had this to say about his latest work, "This movie chose me. And if it works out that I get slaughtered for a movie that came from my heart, I can live with myself." Spoken like a true artist, thick-skinned and all.