Keyword: ‘Amateur’




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A new and very amateur dictionary entry for the word ‘amateur’, developed from a Keywords Brief by Brian Dillon, MA Writing, Royal College of Art.


In art and design, amateur describes two types of people: someone who is BAD at making things (derogatory), and someone who makes things as a PASTIME for the sheer love of it (complimentary, sort of). Originating from the Latin word amātōr-em, meaning ‘of agent’, and amā-re, ‘to love’, the earliest example in English is used with a belittling tone; ‘The President will be left with his train of feeble Amateurs’ (1784, European Mag. 268); and then two years later, specifies someone who does something interesting for pleasure; ‘Dr. Percival [...] writes on philosophical subjects as an amateur rather than as a master’ (1786, European Mag. 421/1)/ ‘The Artist and amateur's magazine: a work devoted to the interests of the arts of design and the cultivation of taste’ (1843-1844, Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, London). In C19, amateur also concerns a non-specialist or DABBLER, and a person who is at risk of coming across as a bit of an IDIOT as a result; ‘Sir Amyas talked a great deal of amateurnonsense’ (1814, M. Edgeworth Patronage I. vi. 183).

The term amateur hour originated in C20 to describe a slot (in TV and radio) deliberately given over to non-professionals to showcase their talent; or to describe a display of incompetency; ‘Last night's performance was, on the whole, strictly amateur hour’ (1972, Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Jrnl. 10/1); ‘Amateur hour has arrived, and the audience is running the show’ (2008, The Cult of the Amateur).

Consequently, the prevalent use of the word amateur indicates someone who isn't very good at something; ‘that shit was amateur, but he still got a good grade somehow’/’fuck. dammit. where'd you get that amateur shit, WordArt?’ (2004, ma jones, Urban Dictionary).

Within art and design discourse, the word can be applied with playful/ironic/venomous intent. Mainly, as a distinction between artists who went to art school, and artists who are self-taught; or someone who is serious about becoming a professional artist and someone who is not; ‘The first thing to understand is the difference between being a hobby artist, an amateur artist, and a professional artist’ (1999, emptyeasel.com). This amateur artist can enjoy art as a hobby; ‘SCULPTING IS SO MUCH FUN!!! I recently picked it back up too- it's just nice to have an art hobby that isn't your job. Can't wait to see what you make!! <3’ (2018, @unbridledphilly, Twitter); or, they can anxiously aspire to transcend their status as an amateur artist to become a REAL ARTIST; ‘The road from amateur artist to professional artist is a somewhat precarious and intimidating process’ (2008, a-n.co.uk/blogs); ‘Amateur Artist Attacks Marina Abramović With His “Very Distorted” Painting of Her’ (2018, frieze.com). These definitions require the reader to interpret the term ‘professional artist’ as someone who is highly skilled, and/or makes art full-time, and/or considers ‘artist’ as their job role; and to consider whether ‘serious’ work is monetised or not; ‘A real artist would work for free, if no one paid’ (2018, @JayThomas, Guardian comments).

Confusingly, the amateur artist is also likely to have a REAL JOB; ‘The amateurhas a valid, if shadowy and eccentric role in British history [...] Dubuffet, champion of Art Brut, did not start to paint “seriously” until his late forties, being a wine merchant in “real life’”’ (2009, a-n Magazine); ‘Like many of the celebrated figures in photography at the time, Alfredo Camisa [...] was not a professional but a dedicated amateur; a chemical engineer, whose real involvement in the art form began in 1955 in Milan, where he moved to take a job at an oil company’ (2015, Tate Etc. issue 33). It is common for REAL ARTISTS to be unsure about whether their MONEY JOB, rather than their artistic practice, is their REAL JOB.

In terms of creative intent, the artist can deliberately choose to become an amateurat something in order to make a body of work; ‘The artist is seen as an amateurin the new skills he or she acquires through the use of expert guidance...Florian Klette’s, Jockey dansen (2009) depicts the artist learning ballet dancing in the context of an exhibition’ (2017, event description, tate.org.uk); ‘The artist describes himself as being an amateur composer and has written an opera and instrumental piece’ (1963, Tom Phillips, Music Drawing, Tate collection text). Amateurism can also be seen as a radical act; ‘The Stuckist is not a career artist but rather an amateur [...] who takes risks on the canvas rather than hiding behind ready-made objects (e.g. a dead sheep)’ (1999, The Stuckist Manifesto); ‘We are the amateurdisaster videographers. We record horrible events and tragedies. Spontaneity is key. Luck is essential. A strong stomach is encouraged’ (2014, Amateur Disaster Footage: A Manifesto); ‘The Amateur advocates urgently for the liberated life, one that creates the space to question authority’ (2018, The Amateur: The Pleasures of Doing What You Love).

Amateurism can be an aesthetic; referencing DIY or punk culture, such as the C20-21 graphic design work of David Carson, or artwork of Bob and Roberta Smith, whose ‘collected output forms one long manifesto, produced sentence-by-sentence in his distinctively amateur signwriting style’ (2018, a-n.co.uk/resource); as in the painting style of Rose Wylie; ‘She is not genuinely naive, let alone a child. She went to art college. Is this a terribly sophisticated put-on?’ (2017, Jonathan Jones, theguardian.com); or as in Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign, who used ‘amateurish design’ to powerful effect, winning the vote ‘not in spite of his terrible design work, but because of it’ (2017, dezeen.com); ‘Trump’s campaign graphics were an amateurish muddle [...] It was a triumph [...] many people in the midwestern states that swung the election cared more about baseball caps than graphic design, and the media’s mockery of the hat was symptomatic of the bi-coastal metropolitan bubble’ (2018, Oliver Wainwright, theguardian.com).

© Laura Robertson, 2018. Full text

Excerpted from the brief: ‘Select a word with high currency in discussions of art and design today. You should write a discussion of a new word or term in the manner of Raymond William’s Keywords, reflecting on its origins and current currency. Be sensitive to changes in use or meaning.’