Have you ever liked an artist without being familiar with their work (see details)?

Nope. That would be becoming a fan because of a critic’s statement. I’ve had critic’s pieces lead me to view something, but I don’t let them make up my mind.

I can’t tell if something new “works” unless i have seen it myself.

I have, if by “like” you mean the concept of their art is intriguing. I usually try to become at least somewhat familiar with an artist’s work, which is fairly simple, thanks to Google, before I can tell if I like them or not. The most honest situation I’ve been in like this is the anticipation before I experience it myself. As for liking an artist despite disliking their works, there are a few artists I like and I recognize them as talented, but I don’t like any of the art they make. And vice-versa, too, Three Kings was a fantastic movie, but David O Russell is a major asshole.

@zenvelo The question separates liking an artist from being a fan, though. I don’t think they are the same thing. Moreover, it could be one of the artist’s own statements that gets you to think the idea is interesting.

@ddude1116 I mean “like” as in appreciating that the artist is doing what they are doing. Finding the concept intriguing might be part of that for some people.

@SavoirFaire Unless I personally know the artist, “liking” an artist and being “a fan” are just a matter of degree. But that distinction doesn’t change my approach: I can’t like an artist based on a conversation or discussion but must see the work to judge the work on its own terms.

Fair enough. Just wanted to clarify.

Duchamp! I don’t think there is very much of his work out there to be seen, but he had a lot to say and was an absolutely fascinating person. He practically made art of talking about art.

I don’t think I can share an example of your first question but I can with the second; liking an artist without liking their work. In my case that would be Lady Gaga. Her music really isn’t my kind of thing at all, but I like her because I’ve seen and read interviews with her, and I like her attitude.

I don’t know if this counts but… I met an art photographer and was head-over-heels over him as a person, so naturally went head-over-heels without hesitation over his art when I saw it. Later when I was finally right in the head and right side up, I saw his art again and was still head-over-heels over his art, but not him as a person.

As soon as I heard about this guy on Facebook, I was immediately intrigued by the idea of his works. He “paints” with butterfly wings! The idea was really exciting to me, so I went and looked at his stuff. While it’s not my style, I really admire the ingenuity and skill it requires.

Uh, no.

@SavoirFaire Then yes, I’ve done that, and I do that in the interim of familiar and unfamiliar.

This is exactly how I feel about John Cage. I learned about him first in music history classes and thought all of his ideas sounded really cool. The more I heard about his work, the more I thought “I love this guy, he sounds so cool!” Then I learned about how he crossed over into other arts, how his music, his hobbies, his obsessions, and his religious beliefs all merged together and I just liked him even more. I had a lot of respect for him before I had really heard a lot of his music.

I’ve listened to recordings of most of his compositions now and I think I like a little more than half of them as pieces of music. I love all of the ideas, but sometimes the actual final product is not to my taste. This is true of lots of composers I like, so it doesn’t bother me. But my admiration for Cage as a composer is maybe slightly out of proportion with my love of his work. He was a great composer and a great musician even if some of his works can be a little boring or a little unimpressive.