Artists Don’t “Practice” Making Art. Just Ask Allen Iverson.

by Glasstire June 12, 2017

Can we stop using the word “practice” to describe what artists do? Art isn’t free, and it isn’t easy, and artists are not dilettantes.

“When you come into the arena, you see me play, don’t you? You see me give everything I’ve got, right? But we talking about practice right now.”

2 comments

2 comments

John Hovig June 13, 2017 - 10:14

“Practice” has two meanings. Other than “rehearse”, it also means “to be a practitioner”. It is this latter usage that describes the work of doctors, lawyers, and yes, artists.

Before “practice” became a noun synonymous with “rehearsal” (the same way “exhibit” has slowly become a noun synonymous with “exhibition”), the noun form of “practice” referred exclusively to the environment of a practitioner.

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Lee Hill June 13, 2017 - 10:50

People like Iverson are silly…only in America do words like this get garbled. The word practice describes the repeated performance of a given skill or task for the purpose of acquiring a skill or proficiency. The other definition of the word ‘practice’ or in British terms ‘practise’ refers to the exercise or pursuit of a profession, art or occupation as a highly skilled practitioner. As in, “I have a terminal degree in a creative art and I paint, act or dance religiously every day and derive most if not all of my income from it”.

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