[NEohioPAL] An Open Letter To Critics, Reviewers, et al. (Steve Wojtas)

Thu Oct 11 08:31:38 PDT 2007

Thanks for the absolutely classic letter-to-the-editor from a disgruntled fan/injured artist. The only cliche you left out is "Were you at the same show I was at?" (I have to wonder if you are a prog-rock fan. They are always writing letters complaining that  clearly the reviewer doesn't have the technical mastery of an instrument needed to review a Dream Theater concert.) In reality, years working at the barre or doing breathing exercises often - usually and necessarily - narrows an individual's focus so much he or she is in fact unqualified to be a critic; (s)he doesn't have the frame of reference it takes. I can't tell you how many times I have heard a musician completely miss the power and impact of a concert because they were so focused on a repetitive bass line (being a bass player) or flaws in the sound mix. 

In addition, artists almost by necessary need to believe that what they are doing is the most valuable expression of whatever their chosen craft is; that is generally why they are doing what they do (leaving out those who do it to make money). Therefore, they almost automatically become an incompetent judge of the expressions of others.

Anastasia Pantsios

> ----------
> From: 	neohiopal-bounces at listserve.com on behalf of Steve Wojtas
> Sent: 	Wednesday, October 10, 2007 4:14 PM
> To: 	neohiopal at listserve.com
> Subject: 	[NEohioPAL] An Open Letter To Critics, Reviewers,et al. (Steve Wojtas)
> 
> You may as well know from the outset that I'm probably going to tip over a 
> sacred cow or two.  Some may even say that I'm tilting at windmills.  Be 
> that as it may.
> 
> But what I'd like to know is:  By whose leave do you deign to hold forth in 
> judgment of the artist and his works?  Are you his peer?  Have you studied 
> intensively; have you practiced extensively in the discipline in which you 
> presume to sit in judgment?  For unless you have, your pronouncements are 
> just so much balloon juice and worth as much.
> 
> Or do you see it as your sacred and moral duty to instruct the unwashed 
> masses as to what they must think?  For myself, as part of the unwashed 
> masses, and as a thinking man who has it on good authority that I am above 
> average in intelligence, I prefer to think for myself, thank you very much.
> 
> To the theatre critic:  Have you spent countless hours of countless days 
> honing your technique so that you can convey volumes of meaning with one 
> look or with that certain inflection?  As  director, have you spent weeks or 
> months coaxing just the right emotion, just the right interplay from as many 
> as a dozen or more actors?  And while you're doing this, have you had to 
> keep in check the tempers of a cast and crew who are overwrought and 
> overtired from emotional and physical labors as you approach impending 
> deadlines?  As a set designer or lighting designer, have you had to create a 
> mood or ambiance that is aesthetically pleasing to the audience as well as a 
> space in which the actors can move efficiently and safely?  And have you had 
> to do it while keeping your creative vision within budget?
> 
> Unless you've done these things yourself, you have no right to judge those 
> who have.
> 
> To the movie critic:  Have you ever had to stay awake late into the night, 
> every night, memorizing pages of dialogue only to wake up at an ungodly hour 
> so that you can spend hours in a make-up chair before going on set so that 
> you can convey the depth of emotion of a tearful parting as your lover 
> boards the train for the front?  And have you done this while sweltering 
> under hot lights, and while dozens of techs and crew scurry around mere feet 
> from you?
> 
> Unless you've done these things yourself, you have no right to judge those 
> who have.
> 
> To the dance critic:  Have you spent literally years practicing at the barre 
> to perfect your technique?  Have you spent hours physically exerting > 
> yourself, sometimes to the point of exhaustion, forcing your body into 
> positions and movements it was never designed to assume; only to go home 
> each night and spend countless hours unable to sleep because of the pain in 
> your muscles and joints?  Yet you get up and do it all over again the next 
> day.
> 
> Unless you've done these things yourself, you have no right to judge those 
> who have.
> 
> To the music critic:  Have you spent years practicing your breathing and 
> vocal technique?  Or spent years in practice developing the muscles and 
> dexterity of your fingers and arms?  Or what about the musician who spent 
> years developing his embrasure so that he is able to coax that clean, clear 
> note from his instrument?
> 
> Unless you've done these things yourself, you have no right to judge those 
> who have.
> 
> Have you ever sat in front of a blank page month after month or year after 
> year trying to create on it a microcosm that is both believable and 
> engaging?  Have you sweated blood doing it?  Have you suffered countless 
> rejections of your creation before your work is published?
> 
> Unless you've done these things yourself, you have no right to judge those 
> who have.
> 
> To put it in the vernacular, unless you've "been there, done that", you have 
> no right to judge those who have.  You know, I can't help but wonder that 
> sometime long past, someone somewhere got the silly notion that your opinion 
> matters.  Isn't that a hoot?  If I may coin a phrase:  Those who can, do.  
> Those who can't, sit in judgment.
> 
> Well, Mr. and Ms. Critic, there's the gauntlet.  Justify your existence.
> 
> Steve Wojtas
> 
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