Painting, loyalty and allegiance

Painting requires (and has done for 50 years in this country) loyalty and allegiance to its cause! Just like every path of life, Painters don't need an honour or OBE to be loyal; it should come counter-intuitively! But if you have been the recipient of patronage do watch out; it could be a cover story for being secretly black-balled by professional jealousy! But here's the thing, most Artists don't choose 'track and not field’, they are warned that you'll only get a low degree if you 'make the mistake of choosing Painting'! Now theoretically some specialise in track or field, one event or two or all events with the complete spectrum at their behest! But here's a reality check, TATT restricts and excludes something that the Artist may be very incisive at like Painting as a specialism, even if the British public since major galleries opened to much popular support during the last war, and therefore it is not surprising that most equate the Painting diaspora of Art since the end of the Cold War too, in spite of the ability of TATT to exclude Painting from the Turner prize , let alone support contemporary Painters who aren't Portrait Artists or abstract expressionists from a bygone age!

Indeed, why are we so confined in being subjected to high tech Art, AI and social media Art, in fact why are we condemning singular Painters to not being able to work unless in a collective? Why should individuals be more important than a team in any sport or profession? Because, unlike most Painters, every sportsman has an entourage like a physio, nutritionist various coaches, doctors, surgeons etc just as a business has specialists and a workforce working for the inventor or the entrepreneur or the accountant etc! So, painters also have more than individual isolation but many other painters who form a connection to bounce ideas and build a support network with, both informally and otherwise! But ultimately for Painters today they do not have to be financially successful to help and contribute to their community and yet be loyal to their specialism in individual solitude too! In fact, many Painters are also keen debunkers of conceptual fartship and also ready to ditch Art tech too!

So, who does conform and who doesn't? Well, most don't want to be on a leash of anyone, but in the armed forces which are determined and dependent on hierarchical rank and orders down the chain of command, they willingly mutually consent to orders! But in our age of over micromanagement pulling rank is a reality that doesn't always benefit either the boss or their staff, so why should TATT pull rank either? Why do we endure (to misquote Will Carling) these 'Old farts' who are pretending to be young guns when they are elitist by academic and intellectual snobbery and bragging about not being 'patronizing' when they are looking down their nose at people has a technical term of being 'effing condescension!!!?!!