What is art? This question was put to me recently with the suggestion that, in addition to answering it myself, I ask those of you reading this blog to give me your thoughts. I would love to hear from you (if you go to the “contact” tab, you’ll find a form you can use or you can just leave a comment below) and I will post some of your responses. I’ll also put the question to my artist friends and share with you what they say.
First, let me say what I believe art is not: Art is not of the head. I have said many times I think the most important thing I can do as an artist is to get out of my own way. What I mean when I say this is that I need to step away from ego (head) and let the “creative force” move through me. For me, making art is all about connecting to a force or a power greater than myself. I become something of a vessel, a conduit. It was for this reason that I didn’t make art for twenty-six years: As a young woman I found it uncomfortable to stand in the energy of that connection. So, in this way, art comes from a very deep place–from a willingness to let go of all control, all knowing; to trust, instinctively—and let Spirit create through me. I believe that, when we allow it, the painting paints itself—it tells us what it wants. This is something of what I mean.
I’m currently reading William deBuys’ lovely book, The Walk. In it he describes what I’m trying to say better than anything I’ve ever read. He’s writing about walking, but I really think we’re talking about the same thing. He says, “The moment itself was the important thing, for in its brief span it allowed the interpenetration of this world with the world of spirit. It was also a moment of peril, for although the hero gladly surrendered to benign forces, he might easily find himself confronted by a demon… The point lies in making oneself available to the numinous, opening to see what comes… one stops, looks, and listens. And what comes, comes.”
My very first student, who pursued me for private lessons before I knew I had anything to teach (he taught me otherwise), is a perfect example of what I am trying to say. He is a retired neuropsychologist. All of his life’s success had come from headwork. It was like pulling teeth, at first, to get him out of that space and into his heart/soul. We would spend the first hour of every class, at least, getting past his objections. But when he was able to let go to his art, to open his heart, he painted magic. He says, now, that when he approached me for painting lessons, little did he know he was embarking on a journey of the soul. Painting literally changed his life. This is what art is, nothing less.
This happens, I believe, because art is of the magical realm. It asks that we suspend reality and go into a place of inner wisdom—the old knowing—where we are connected to Spirit, to Jung’s collective unconscious. Art is so much more than we can know; more than we can say– like our night dreams—when we try to put words to them they dissipate as fog in sunlight.
For this reason I suggest you go to your favorite gallery or museum, alone, and spend some time there. BE with the art. Live it, breathe it; experience it. Go home and paint or draw or photograph or sing. Read a great book. Watch an inspiring movie. Then ask yourself what art is and you will know the answer because it lives in you. It lives in us all.
My beliefs are just mine. No one person can say what art is. If we are lucky, perhaps many voices may come close. Will you write and tell me what art is to you?
Looking back, art is the map of my journey.
Looking ahead, it is the light by which I find my way.
That is just PERFECT Trish! So few words and so much truth/soul. I’m going to add it to the discussion section of the FB page, too.
There is no one answer to this question! The academic answer: there are literary, performing and visual arts. A person expressing their thoughts and emotions in any sort of metaphorical or abstract way is art, but the literal expression of a literary artist is art too. So is the presentation or performance of thoughts or emotions even when not metaphoric or abstract. Damn, I thought I had a shot at this.
Yeah, it’s a surprisingly tough one, isn’t it? It’s why I wanted to put it out there, because there is no one answer. And even when we think we have one, the next day or minute or hour our mood changes and so does the answer. Two of my artist friends have said they don’t think about it. One said she didn’t really want to. Maybe that’s a version of just doing it! I think one of the reasons all the arts are so meaningful is exactly that art is not containable. It’s slippery and hard to define, so we keep doing it in an effort to SHOW what it is. You think?
I believe that “Art” is anything that touches me personally, in my heart. Sometimes I have to think about what I see, so it can touch my head, too. I studied graphic design in the late ’70’s and was told by some of my traditional art professors that design wasn’t art. Now, I like to explore different mediums, but my sense of design is always involved. Sometimes I see things that I like, but can’t explain why. Too bad. I just like it.
I really agree that we must be moved by a piece of art, especially if we’re going to take it into our homes. It’s why art is so subjective: what touches one will not necessarily touch the other. I take comfort in that. I also don’t believe we need to know why we love a piece. That visceral connection is all that matters and sometimes, like art itself, it just can’t be quantified.
A good design eye is critical, I think, for a piece of art to work. Too many teachers tell us emphatically what is and what isn’t. If it supports our process, I don’t care what anybody says. Use every tool you have, that speaks to you, to make your art.
Like Gail James writes: she believes that “Art” is anything that touches her personally, in her heart. When I tell people I am an artist they of course always ask: “What do you paint?” My response is always the same: “What ever interests me.” What I mean by that is similar to what Gail writes. I see something I like for it touches me internally, in my heart and I want to recreate it into a painting so that it may touch someone else internally through their heart or to be touched by it in their own personal way. I want to pass it on, the great feeling I received when I viewed it. Sharing…passing it on. That is what “Art” is to me.
You should read yesterday’s post, Why Is Art Important? It touches on exactly what you’re saying about how and why you are compelled to create. Something I’ve found with some of my students is that they struggle to know what inspires them. That you know is more than half the battle. Keep it going!
I did read it and it is similar to the question: “What is Art?”. “Why Is Art Important?” It is important when it pertains to learning about Art History. All those past artists: Van Gough, Michael Angilo and so on. I mostly love to hear how an artist got started for that is a story in itself! Art is important to like what I said above, to be touched by it and another reason can be to tell people about yourself from the type of art that you pick out to display in your home or place of work. Art tells a lot about the person; it even tells a lot about the artist themselves when someone is viewing an artists paintings. Learning…Knowing…Seeing. Hope that makes sense for like you said it is hard to put into words why art is important. Well that kind of sums up why art is important to me.
Yes, it is surprisingly hard to put into words. I think it’s different for each of us and like the landscape in different seasons, it changes as we change. My art is my life now. Everything I do revolves around getting to continue to live this life and make my art. There’s something very real about not getting a pay check and making it on our art. I think it’s a bond between us, those of us who make art for a living–kind of a badge we wear–and we understand each other because of it. I like being a part of that common struggle. But I don’t want to define it as a struggle, either, because I may create that as my reality… you see, a slippery slope 🙂