If you are an artist, you have likely doubted yourself or your work. You may have been afraid to share something you’ve made with loved ones or the public, or have gotten frustrated and scrapped something that others said looked nice, but you hated. This is often because when you are making something, it is not only a painting or sculpture, but an expression of your true self to the world. And that is a terrifying thing to do, because what if it is rejected? It can be difficult for many to detach themselves from the work they make. And when it is not immediately accepted and successful, it’s easy to want to burn it all and run away. It’s not like it’s going to make much money anyway, so why are you even doing this, right?
If you are an artist, and you have told people you are an artist, you have been asked “So, what do you do/make?” This typically means they are interested in your medium of choice or what you are selling. Saying you’re a chef, or a librarian, or a meteorologist is very self-explanatory and does not require follow up questions– even telling people you are a writer does not have the same ambiguity that the word ‘artist’ does. It is extremely vague with an unclear definition, and this is because the root word ‘art’ is too. The dictionary definition when I Google the word ‘art’ is: “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power”. This does not narrow much down, especially considering the use of the word ‘typically’, which opens art to be far more than just visual.
Art is not just a painting on the wall to enjoy– it is in almost everything on the phone/computer you are reading this from. It is in the house and room you feel comfortable coming home to, the storybooks you read to your kids, the collage of family photos, and shelves full of memorabilia. It is in your social media pages– in the photos you choose to post and in the words you choose to comment. It’s in all your favorite videos, shows, movies, songs, and games. It’s in the words you say and hear from others.
All the doctors and engineers and scientists keep us alive, and these are obviously vital people to our world. But art, in all these facets, is what makes life worth living. One of my favorite quotes in one of my favorite books, The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury says, “Science is no more than an investigation of a miracle we can never explain, and art is an interpretation of that miracle”.
There was an episode in that book where a character explores the ruins of a ‘perfect’ Martian city. He notes that the thing which made this city so great was the balance between technology, innovation, and science with art and everything beautiful. And there can be a lot of meaning and messages behind beautiful things.
Imagine a town of brutalist architecture. Everything is square, concrete, and completely practical. Then, imagine a city of glittering skyscrapers, made primarily of metals, glass, and valuable materials. Finally, imagine a village with small houses all painted in bright colors and covered in plants. What sort of things do you assume about the culture, population, and ethics of each of these locations? Whether because of our past experiences or something inherent in the design, certain looks communicate very strong messages. This can also be applied to different clothing styles to indicate members of subcultures, such as goths, punks, or even nuns. It’s counterintuitive, but imagine how much more complicated things would be if we all wore the same gray, practical items.
Everyone works very hard in their respective situations. Most people can relate to returning home at the end of the day, exhausted and in a bad mood. They can relate to the feeling of needing escapism, or something to get their mind off the negative thoughts of the day. When it feels like life is out of control, we need a way to feel in control. Some people do this through drinking or smoking at the end of the day. Many do this through a couple of hours binging television or watching a movie. Others will hop on a video game with their friends and put their full effort into that fictional world. A century ago, a lot of us would be reading a book or playing card games instead as escapism. Even tens of thousands of years ago, people created cave paintings between hunting and working. If there is nothing to bring us joy when life is difficult, what is all that work for? Those things that bring us joy and escape are all forms of art, either brought to us by artists or created by ourselves for amusement.
But on the other hand, art can bring us down to earth and the harshest realities. I have heard people describe art as a mirror of reality, reflecting life lessons, and I believe that is almost always true. My favorite recent example of this is the satire TV show The Boys, which utilizes an obviously fantasy world with remarkably similar societal patterns to our own– it was exaggerated and displayed reality in an alternate fashion to emotionally impact people and force them to address it. In many forms of media, the ability to evoke emotions is magical, because it convinces people to empathize with individuals who are not real. Therefore, they can be influenced by these individuals to change their opinions or even their understanding of life. Visual artists like Diego Rivera and Van Gogh expressed their view and understanding of reality through their art as well, and the strength of those messages is why they are both still so famous today.
So, when people talk about art not being necessary in schools or other places (despite rich arts education being associated with better GPAs, standardized testing scores, and lower dropout rates), it is important to remember these things. Even as an artist myself, I sometimes wonder if I am really contributing to the world. But remember the smile on people’s faces when you give them a painting– whether it’s exactly what they paid for or you’re giving it for free. The moment that solidified this idea to me was my first flight alone, from Illinois to Texas. I spent those few hours drawing a recreation of Caravaggio’s David, and noticed the man next to me watching. As we landed, he said something along the lines of, “Thank you for the entertainment. I was watching the entire time. You are so talented!” I asked him if he wanted the drawing, and he was so shocked. He said, “This is incredible! My wife will never believe me!” At that moment, I was just my bored self on a trip, spending my time on a practice drawing I would probably never look at again. But to that guy, it was an unbelievable situation and a story for his family in the future. That was when I realized the value of what I wanted to do, and that I wanted to spend my life giving as many people that emotion as possible.
Sit down and think very hard about a similar moment in which you affected someone positively with your art (gifting, making someone smile, etc). I know for a fact there is at least one time, unless you hide everything you make in a dungeon. Try to remember how you felt in that moment, or how you perceived their reaction. Is that something you want to recreate or continue? If so, what ways can you brainstorm to get that same reaction out of someone else? Some people aim to upset people with their work, to send them a message. If that is you, think of a moment you were successful with that. What sort of comments did you receive? Is there a way you could do it on an even bigger scale? Once you realize these strengths within your work, and the impacts they can have on others, paying attention to these reactions and learning from them can be very validating and helpful to grow and improve.
Ask yourself why you are trying to elicit these responses from people? What do you feel passionate about, that you wish to change through your work? Do you want to send a message for a cause you care about, or just simply make the world a more beautiful place? How can you most effectively do that in a way that’s true to your values? Hold your answers to these final questions close to your heart, because they will be the coal in your steam engine for this difficult journey of being an artist.
In Lesson 3 of this module, we will be going more in depth about your ‘why’, the tough decisions about what to make, and navigating artist’s block.