Blog: What do Sylvestor Stallone and Roberta Mabel Biden have in common?

Featured image: Which Way

Why is it that if you "claim" that you are an artist and either are a celebrity or affiliated with a celebrity that you are instantly accepted as being an artist? Really? Do we not have any other values that “qualify” one as an “artist” and their work as “art?”

Examples of this are: Winston Churchill, George Bush, Sylvester Stallone, and now, the “first granddaughter of President Joe Biden.” I actually like some of the work done by Sylvester Stallone, and I like him and his grit. But, just because I like his paintings, does that qualify him as an artist and his work as art? Absolutely not! Isn't it the same if you were to assume that just because he is a celebrity, his work qualifies as art and he as a fine artist? Note, I am not talking about his art of acting here. That is a different discussion.

Because I have studied Stallone’s work, I will say a little more about it. It has a Dubuffet, Basquiat quality to it. It's very personal, and he is definitely in his work along with his personality and his values. Even though his work has qualities like other artists, it is definitely his own work. He has his own style, and it is quite nice to look at and contemplate. Does it irritate me any less that his work came to the attention of others, because he is a star and not because he earned it ? NO, it does not! I just cannot imagine others that paint in a similar manner making it if, perhaps, they did not have that stardom attached to the work.

Which brings me to Joe Biden's Granddaughter – the “First” Granddaughter's work. If she weren’t Joe Biden’s granddaughter, she would be struggling. She would struggle to figure out how to put herself into the work that she does. To date, from what I see that has been published online in the Art World, ArtNet News publication on March 12, 2021 in an article written by Nate Freeman, she hasn’t figured that out yet. (https://news.artnet.com/art-world/wet-paint-bidens-granddaughter-instagram). And you will notice from this article if you follow the link that Hunter Biden is also an artist.

What these famous people have is a name that boosts them to the top . But, I can’t help but think of all the other artists out there – including myself – who don’t have the name and would like a chance to have their work viewed by a larger audience.