written by Analise Hairabedian
Artist/Graphic Designer
What is Art?. This is a question that has been asked, agonized over and philosophized on for centuries. It is a question that has been determined over and over again to have no answer. Is Art purely aesthetics? Where does that leave some of the most prominent and brilliant Dadaists? Is a penciled box with some scratchy lines radiating from a corner, art? Some say not, but others see it as the desperate attempt for the Dadaist to understand, adapt and cope with the Industrial Revolution and what it did to society. In his book, Art, L.Ron.Hubbard tells us in the first chapter, that indeed, he has an answer to this question of questions. He relays this answer promptly and repetetively. Art is communication.Hubbard tells us this one thing in numerous ways, numerous times. Art is unsuccessful when it does not communicate its message clearly to the largest number of people. Art that only communicates with other artists...or with the artist himself, is not art. This is a curious and fascinating concept to be telling supposed creative people. Many of the worlds greatest artists did not create their master works in order to talk to the masses. Van Gogh was painting his colorful, fractured landscapes as a reflection of his own tortured soul. If L.Ron. Hubbard had been alive then...he would have called one of the most brilliant artists Europe has produced a fraud. After all, no one looked at Van Gogh's paintings...no one bought a single one besides his own brother. The man was broke and insane when he died. A failure, indeed. But his work is some of the most expressive, the most beautiful the world has seen. Sadly, Hubbard would not consider Van Gogh an artist under his definition of art.
Technical expertise is another interesting focal point for Hubbard's book. He cites an example which any artist with an ounce of sense would roll their eyes at for the obviousness of it. He tells us of a French painter friend who told him once that "to do any of these modern, abstract, cubist things..you have to first be able to paint!". Hubbard doles out this information as if it is some great secret that artists hoard amongst themselves. Picasso, one of the greatest artists of all time, had the basics of painting and drawing down pat by the time he was 12. His ever-evolving search for expression took him to the end of his life, by which time he was painting the cubist masterpieces he is known for. Of course one must know how to paint if one is to be a painter. Hubbard has a different goal in mind, however, when he states this. He tells artists that they can deliver a successful message only if their technical skill is perfect. Communication breaks down when you cannot effectively depict your point. Again, common sense...but not necessarily applicable to art.
The work that reaches the most people...that communicates clearly with the masses, this is true art. Hubbard tells us this in his ludicrously patronizing writing. Surely the people who read this book are in 3rd grade. That is the level at which he communicates. He takes the creative and commercializes it..he takes art and demeans it, stripping it of whatever purpose, expression and soul it might have. This message is only underlined by the rest of the book, which defines how one goes about being an artist. Color, depth perception, tools....these things that you might find in your very first High School art class. He takes it one step further by showing us how gargantuan his ego is. He tell the reader (probably an artist) that certain techniques work better than others. For example, you should not use a rectangle and an octagon in the same work. Several different type sizes should not be cluttered onto one page..especially if they are on different lines. I wonder where some of the most current, inventive and visually stunning works of advertising would be if Hubbard had gotten to their creators.
There are no rules in art, and Hubbard set rules on the first page. You cannot define, confine, and codify art. That is its very nature. Take that away, and what you have is advertising. The only artform that can be said to, by definition, have to communicate. His book, Art, loses any credibility when he sets his underlying theme down. From there on, all it does is serve to show what a monstrous ego he has. That Hubbard is not an artist is abundantly clear. That he is a poor writer of the lowest quality is also abundantly clear. That is the only certainty in this book, beyond the fact that it is nothing but a collection of badly written phrases attempting to tell artists something that they know is nonsense. The only gratifying thing about Art, is the fact that any artist reading it would immediately see it for what it is....something to prop up the uneven leg of the coffee table.
Art by L. Ron Hubbard is published in North America by Bridge Publications, Inc. and in the rest of the world by New Era Publications, Inc. Cover design is presumably (c) Bridge Publications. According to them, Art is the "single most influental text of its kind, with thousands of seasoned professionals regularly relying on it".