Yayyy NYC!!! I've been in NY for almost two weeks now. Generally we've had things scheduled from 9 am - 9 pm so I've been doing 12 hour days here which is why Mr Blog has become a little bit dusty and why my social networking presence has pretty much completely disappeared.
We've done so much in the last two weeks so I'm really not sure where to start and so I'm not going to write about all of the places I've visitied and things we've done but more just a few things I've been thinking and stuff floating in my brain prompted by all of the activities specifically ways of evaluating art and why art is important.
We've been doing a series on theology and art which I've really enjoyed. A couple of days ago we went in groups to different galleries to discuss and dissect different artists pieces to try to understand the artist behind art and what their worldview was. We discussed questions like is the viewer important to this artist why or why not? Is humanity portrayed in a positive, negative or conflicted light? How does the artist view his/herself? Is the world a place of light or darkness? What is the state of the world? What in the artists life experience might have contributed to this view? What take on spirituality do they take? If there is an absence of the spiritual, is it deliberate? I was in group of 4 and went to a small gallery that had a series of 6 pieces up. With only a few pieces to draw from we went at it and had one of the most in depth art conversations I've probably ever had. I think in general when I go to art galleries or events like first fridays I tend to pay way too much attention to craft and general aesthetics rather than concept and really dissecting the art and trying to learn from it and figure out what the artist was trying to say. I found this more in depth approach of asking questions and discussion really helpful in understanding why I myself create art and why art is important and what we can learn from it.
Throughout my life I think art has played many differnent roles. I've always been an extremely creative person and art has been simply an expression of that whether it be through theater, music, dance, painting, drawing, taking photographs or designing. I have these skills and this desire to create. It brings me joy and life and it just feels like this is what I've been made to do so I do. Art has also been a way of therapy for me at different times. For whatever reason writing songs and making music has always been a way of processing through difficult times in life. I feel like most of the songs I've written are in minor and really difficult to share with people because they are extremely personal. In college I went to school for graphic design a sort of commercial and "practical" form of art. I thought I really want to do something creative but I don't want to be a starving artist, graphic design seems like the answer. Being a graphic designer is very creative but generally the point is not making art. You have a client that has a problem that you need to solve visually. You bring your personal creativity and experience to the table but it's about the client not you. So for me art and creativity has played out as simple expression and exercise of learned creative skills, personal therapy, solving other peoples visual problems, trying to communicate truth and personal experiences, and getting the viewer to ask deeper questions about life that I have wrestled with and find important and valid. So many purposes and reasons to create!
For anyone reading why do you make art and what role has it played in your life? And why do you think art is important or not so important? I'd love to get feedback :) PS I will include more pictures next time......!
I create art primarily because Josh hates it. Other than that, it's because if I didn't, then I literally wouldn't know what to do with myself. I would become one of those people that wakes up, goes to work, comes home, goes to sleep, wakes up, goes to work, comes home, goes to sleep, etc.......and I can't have that!
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