What Is Art To You?

Everyone has their own version of Art.

Some people believe Picasso to be a genius, others find their children can draw just as well as he.

He did say it took him his whole life to draw like a child, after all.

But what is art to you? Personally?

Is art visceral or intellectual? Certainly it can be both.

Is art tactile or abstract? Again, it is certainly both.

Art is constantly evolving and yet staying the same.

My views on art have varied wildly over the last couple years, starting with being essentially nonexistent. Two years ago, to me, art merely existed. I didn't understand it because I never thought to try. Art was an enigma because I kept it in the dark. I think everybody does this, to some extent, saying to themselves that they just don't get art. But what's their to get?

Sure, when an artist creates something, they may have a very specific idea of what that art means and what they want you to feel. But what if you look at that art and see something different.

Take The Swing, for example.

There's a few things going on, but most people would not likely draw the same conclusion. Nor would I expect them to feel the same way about this painting. In the middle you have a lady swinging. She stands out, wearing pink, from the otherwise dismal colored painting. How does this make you feel? Look at the man pulling her from the back; he is smiling. Why? Should he be? Who is he? What about the man in front of he in the bushes. She is clearly looking at him and her cheeks are flushed. And she's kicking up her leg (losing her shoe) to let the man below her look up her dress. Considering all the clothing she's wearing, this is probably a very naughty thing to do during a time when, I imagine, modesty is best. Also, consider that they are, essentially, in public. Now how does this painting make you feel?

At first, this painting feels kind of happy. Sure, the painting is mostly dark, but the light casting through the shadows onto the woman adds a certain brightness to the painting; almost like there is something to look forward to.

But really this painting is a giant fuck you.

The painting was commissioned by a man for his mistress. He's the one on the ground up front; she's the one on the swing. Her husband is in the shadows (literally and figuratively) unaware of this affair. Is he pulling her back or Is he pushing her into it?

Art has a way of taking what you think you know and flipping it upside-down.

Now That That's Out Of The Way...

Now my personal journey through art hasn't focused so much on the minutiae of looking at and understanding art. My journey, short as it may be, has focused more on the process. I've long been intrigued by process more than meaning with art.

In particular, I've become more interested in more traditional, process-oriented arts. I feel like the process of creating and binding a book by hand is more rewarding than drawing a picture. That is not to say that drawing isn't rewarding, I just find that personally, for me, the tactility of an art encourages me to continue it.

I'm really intrigued by letterpress right now. I want to learn it. The process from beginning to end blows my mind. Letterpress seems like the perfect blend of old-school art form and new digital technology culminating in an amazing product that itself, too, is tactile.



I think that's all for now.