Being in art school, art and the questioning of it and of self and of one's work is on my mind daily. From the doodles in my notebook to the huge canvas paintings in my painting classes, I an working out my ideas about art. One of the questions that is often there in the back of my mind is:
Why is art even important?
Why is art necessary and defended
for its value in our world? I have been told that every dollar that is spent on
art returns 7-fold for the economy. So it’s a great investment... that cannot
be the only reason it seeps in to so many aspects of culture and it creates such a stir when it is controversial. A woman in a video I watched about art’s importance said
that defining its value is like trying to define things of the spirit. We can’t
say for sure. We have always known that a carpenter is valuable because he
built you a house, but we have seen throughout history that we as humans
believe there is something other than our physical bodies that has needs. It doesn't need shelter, or food, or water, it needs another kind of nourishment. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAYs8WAhuCw&feature=relmfu)
I say she is a wise lady. That seems so deep and vast, like I could explore the idea of what it is that is other than our bodies and what nourishes it besides art.
I am not sure what compels me to create things for viewing and experiencing by other people. For a while I thought that made me boastful and prideful. It was a bad thing. Now I see that it is actually a healthy and important part of the art community--sharing and being shared with. There is something invigorating about being in a room full of artists. It is creation in the making--life-giving in a way. It is a whole new approach to something that each person can experience in only their own way and it is happening all around you. All of you are talking and discussing and challenging and critiquing and being painfully honest with each other, even though you have not necessarily even formally introduced yourself. Truly the nature of art does that too. And in a classroom, you get to see the progression of others' work and watch them develop their style and concepts. Sometimes it is intensely emotional. I nearly cried at one of my critiques because my professor and classmates really understood the emotional pain I was depicting in the piece even if they had never experienced it themselves. That kind of community is incredible and affirming and encouraging. Knowing I can spend my time for the rest of my life as an artist with those kind of people, is assuring and exciting. They are always working to make their work and themselves better. They are encouraging each other to take risks and working through issues of identity by resolving issues within their artwork.
What do I have to offer them? What will my impact be on the world? I can learn so many mediums and use them on so many surfaces in so many settings. It feels wide open. Will I be able to support myself financially solely as an artist? What impact will my art and way of thinking have on my family and children? How can I teach my kids the importance of art? It is an experience I will approaches with very little knowledge of how it all works. I have no close friends or family that I can think of that work out of their own studio. I get to learn and make mistakes and successes myself. It is exciting and challenging, but I am not afraid :)
