Here's my opinion. Art is everything. Everything you see, hear, touch, taste. Art is life. Or perhaps the experience of life. There is no good or bad art, just things you like or don't like. To me, art is anything that makes you feel. Currently, I'm looking at the clean dishes stacked up on our apartment's counter top. I'm sure whoever put them there spent no amount of time dwelling on exactly how they were going to stack the tupperware just a little askew, or how they were going to place the pot lid leaning against a neat little stack of bowls, but inadvertently, they made art. It makes me smile. I don't really know why, I just like the look of all those dishes neatly laid out on that little blue towel behind that yellowing head of broccoli. To me, it's art and an artist is someone who merely manipulates the things around them and 'controls' the art already existing. It's a little like that rule about energy you learn in every science class since fifth grade: Energy cannot be created or destroyed, simply changed from one form to another. Similarly, art is not created or destroyed, just changed.
Now, you're probably wondering what brought all this on. That, or you're wondering how tired and sleep-deprived I must've been when I wrote this. Well, I'm only going to answer the first one.
As I get further along in college I begin to realize that as an art major I will someday have to enter the "art conversation," whatever that is. No offense, but I'm not a stuffy art person. I don't take myself that seriously. Wait, no, scratch that. I do take myself seriously as an artist. If I weren't serious, then this wouldn't be my major. What I mean is that I'm serious about my art, but to me, art doesn't have to be serious. I've tried explaining this before and it's always been difficult, but I hope I get my point across. Let's just skip to my rant about the experiences I've been encountering.
So it started when I discovered that a girl in my Irish Dance class is a Sculpture major. I got all excited and we started discussing life as art majors. She used a lot of terms that sounded vaguely familiar to me from my AP Art History class all those years ago, but I couldn't really remember them enough to do anything other than nod politely. I explained to her that I was interested in the Sculpture major but was applying for the 2D Studio major instead and then deciding if I wanted to switch once I had taken the core classes (which involve things like both painting and sculpture). Very flatly she told me that probably wasn't a good idea and would involve a lot of paperwork. This is where our conversation began to turn. I tried to explain that I really loved "sculpture" (this word doesn't quite have the connotations I'm looking for, but we'll go with it) but I wasn't really sure that the things I did qualified as real "art" or would be considered more "craft". Immediately she assured me that there is a very distinct line between art and craft. Craft, she sniffed, is something anyone can do. Art is more sophisticated than that. At this point our conversation was pretty much over and I had some time to stew. I've always believed that anyone can do art, that it isn't a gift reserved for those precious few who have some magical ability to see the world differently. Artists aren't better than anyone else. The only thing that makes us different is that we've practiced. I hate it when people say things like "I wish I could draw as good as you" or "you're so amazing, I could never be an artist like you". For one, although it's supposed to be a compliment, it's really hard to take it that way. When people say things like that I feel kind of crummy, like I have some magical power that no one else is allowed to have. Secondly, it isn't some magical power. I wasn't born with the innate ability to draw. I do believe I've always had the desire to be an artist, but I've had to work for it. When people say things like, "I'm so jealous of your art" I always want to retort "are you also jealous of the hours I've had to spend practicing over and over again?"
I'm sorry, I'm digressing. So the aforementioned conversation caused me to ponder exactly where the line between "art" and "craft" was. I have come to the conclusion that there really is no line. Even if craft is something that "anyone can do" why does that make it not art? There are a lot of things that people would likely consider craft that take countless hours of practice. I'm pretty sure I couldn't go out and become a master tablet-weaver or professional embroiderer in a single day. Just because a blacksmith makes things that are useful, does that make the status of artist unattainable for him? I say no.
On to my second rant. There's a kid I sit by in my 2D Design class who is incredibly talented at drawing. He works at a bank and draws on sticky notes there. I absolutely love his drawings. They're adorable and humorous and a wonderful picture of human beings as they really are. (His drawings kind of remind me of the photographs Lilo takes in Lilo & Stitch - "aren't they beautiful?"). Anyways, he recently decided to apply to the Illustration major this semester and I think he's got a fantastic shot at getting in. The other day, one of the professors in that department came into our classroom and this kid asked him to take a look at his sketchbook and give him some feedback. The professor said little about his talent, but discouraged him from continuing to draw on sticky notes and said he needed to get a better quality sketchbook. I was a little perplexed. I love that his drawings are on sticky notes. It adds so much more charm to the figures. Why should the quality of materials take away from his obvious talent?
Well, now you know where all of this came from. I'd like to take some time now and just feature some "art" that I've come in contact with here on the internet and let you decide for yourself what it really classifies as.
(Artist)
Fan art and anything that's considered "in" is generally taboo. My Little Pony is bizarrely incredibly popular right now and while I'm not a fan, I do appreciate the creativity it has sparked. Personally, I love this. It makes me smile. Like, whoever would've thought to make a Sokka Pony figurine? It's great!
And what about this? Anyone can learn how to sew. The fact that it's one of the most gorgeously designed dresses I've ever seen has absolutely no effect on the fact that cosplay couture can never be an "art" form. (You guys know I'm being sarcastic with all this, right?)
(Artist)
Again with the sticky notes. It doesn't matter how pretty and composed this piece is, you just can't make art with sticky notes. Says who!?
Blech, stuffy art people. I don't ever want to have to enter the art conversation if art has to be judged by the materials you use and the subjects you portray. It's so portentous . . . and dumb. Ich. Maybe I just don't have the mind of an artist. Who knows. But I'm going to continue to do what I love however the heck I want. (Yeah! Stickin' it to the man.)
Okay, one last, hopefully happier, point before I show the things that I've been doing recently. As I've begun to think about art a lot more and what it is, I think I've come to understand it a little more. I used to be somewhat judgmental of things like performance art. But as I've come to redefine art for myself, I begin to see it differently. Maybe this isn't how I'm supposed to look at it, but it makes sense to me. As I said before, art is life, or perhaps the experience of life. Art is a wonderful thing, in that you can do pretty much whatever you want however you want. I have this problem where I'm interested in practically everything, but I don't want to do things the way you're supposed to. Like science. I think science is fascinating, but I hate the whole scientific process, or the fact that you're supposed to have an end goal. Can I not just study insect wings without coming up with some thought out hypothesis. Or if I don't find out anything hugely important or anything at all other than insect wings look pretty, was the study a complete waste? This is where art comes in. You're fascinated by the way different people brush their teeth? Well, video-tape a bunch of people brushing their teeth. Don't have more than fifty participants representing a standard variety of people? Who cares! It's art. All you're doing is documenting the act of cleaning incisors, you aren't looking for any outcomes, you're just looking. Because that's what art is. I dunno if that makes any sense, but here, watch this video:
Again, sorry for the bad picture, but this was another therapeutic art exercise. I was having a weird weekend, so I decided to go on a quick hike up the canyon by my apartment. And by hike up the canyon, I really mean hike to the canyon. By the time I finally got there the sun was going down, so I sat on a bridge and drew the sunset. I've always been terrified of drawing sunsets and skies and landscapes in general. Then, even more terrifying, I came home and painted it. It certainly isn't the most realistic paint job, but I was pleasantly surprised with how it turned out. It reminds me of Quentin Blake illustrations. I was so scared to paint the yellow clouds. They were all golden and beautiful and most definitely not your standard white and grey clouds. I like it. I think I should try to draw things that scare me more often.
Well, I think this has gone on long enough. I was going to add some more things, but perhaps next week. Or the week after . . .
Toodle-loo! And make some art!
