Is Your Art Important?
Is your art important? The answer is a hand-wavy-shoulder-shrugging “kind of.”
Maybe you really are writing the next Harry Potter. Your work could become important to millions of people all over the word. That would be pretty damn cool.
But if our plane goes down on a desert island, we’ll need to use your manuscript to feed the fire. We’d chuck your art in the flames without a second thought.
So, at the most basic level, your art is profoundly unimportant.
It’s just paper, words, paint, clay, wood, whatever.
If that’s all art is, why do so many artists take their art so seriously?
It’s because too many artists view their art as a reflection of their self-worth.
Our identity gets all snarled up in our latest attempt at creating great art. When your art is a belly flop, do you ever infer the following?
- “I’m a failure, and I’ll always be a failure.”
- “I’m no good at this, and I’ll never be good at this.”
- “It didn’t work today, and it won’t work tomorrow.”
Sure, your thoughts sound more sophisticated, but the take home message is the same.
Herein lies the paradox: by taking art less seriously, the process of creating art becomes easier. When every stroke of the paintbrush isn’t a direct reflection of your self-worth, more painting gets done. More art gets made.
The archetype of the brooding, tortured artist needs to die. Perhaps, on a desert island somewhere, because she refused to burn her manuscript.
Allow me to take the lead:
I am a writer. I arrange words in a different order than other people choose to. No more, no less.
What do you do?
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I get what you are saying, but if it reaches and has an impact on even just 1 person, wouldn't you say that has value?
I also want to point out that if we were stuck on a desert island and needed your art work for fire, I would greatly appreciate it. Not as art, but still. We could admire it until the ashes flew away. :)
Absolutely! That for sure has value. For example, hearing a thoughtful comment from you and @papacrusher below means a lot to me, and hopefully I was able to stir the pot for you two.
What I was trying to communicate (and may have been unclear about) is that people can make their art out to be so important that they make the creative process a real grind, or they never even make their art.
Art is important in a way (that's the hand-wavy-shoulder-shrugging "kind of"). But there are so many contexts in which the importance of our art is dwarfed by really upsetting life events and circumstances.
So, when we are chugging along, doing our day-to-day thing, I think artists should strive to keep the importance of their work in perspective. It's just art.
By taking a lighter approach, I think artists can make more art and better art.
Is there fishing on your desert island? Can we find something to use? Art? Lol
Have you heard of Guy Harvey? He combined his love of art and fishing. Now he designs all the popular fishing prints for shirts and all sorts of other stuff.
How bout Dom Castagnola on Facebook? I love his digital designs. All fish related but soooo good.
What do you think of this concept of combining art into another field of interest?
I haven't heard of those two, but sounds like interesting stuff!
I believe in an obscenely broad definition of art, so I think art naturally crosses into other fields of interest.
If it's art to someone else, it's probably art to me too!
(lol I now notice the large fish you are holding in your pic)
This is an extremely refreshing take on how we, as artists, take ourselves and our work too serious. It was an excellent read and definitely something to ponder. Oh, by the way, I am a writer, poet, and photographer. I love the rises and falls of words written across a white sheet of paper and I love to see images a bit differently that maybe someone else. That is all too. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you! I believe that this message is a bit unpalatable to some (it's not nice to hear your art isn't important)... but to me it is refreshing too!
Art doesn't need to be so heavy. I think that artists make it heavy. Sure, when we fail there is a bit of snickering from the peanut gallery, but you stepped up and tried. Art isn't you, it's just something you made.
I really appreciate you leaving that comment. I am glad the message hit home for you.
And thanks for sharing that you are a writer, poet, and photographer. I hope those pursuits bring you a lot of happiness.
Cheers,
Christopher
now, you arrange your words, no more no less, that itself is an art.
What do I do?
Well, I'm also a Plan writer in many different ways, I arrange pictures, I arrange product placement, I communicate with influencers, I write a plan and plan a project.
That's great! Thank you for sharing what you do, and thank you for your support!