In 8th
grade I picked up my first paint brush and felt the calm wash over me as I lost
myself in all of the simplicity of being able to pour all of the complexities
of my mind onto a canvas. I remember my art teacher being excruciatingly tough
on me compared to all of the other students. He challenged everything I said
and every piece of work I presented to him. At the time, this seemed like I was
being bullied; looking back though, I can see it was him trying to push me. I
think back to that teacher a lot, Mr. Jones, and wish I could tell him the
affect he had on my life and how I see the world around me. But just because I
will always respect what he did for me, I don’t agree with how he taught us to
uphold famous pieces of art versus our own.
The
most incredible artist, in my opinion, is the artist who will still make their
art despite what economical, emotional or social cultures and they’re
surrounded by. Being dedicated to your art doesn’t mean that you have to attend
Columbia or any other art school; it just means you have to have passion, perseverance
and persist-ency with what you chose to create and do. I can be honest with the
fact that I will probably never become a famous painter, but I am attending
this incredible school and the city of my dreams because this is the first time
in my life I’ve been not only ready for something good, but I’m accomplishing
it as well.
Seeing
the modern wing, it honestly just made me feel like the newer generations of
artists are becoming lazy. We are settling for the bare minimum and want to
develop something new before we can accomplish something meaningful. I have
drawn and painted, printed and edited more pieces of my art work than I can
count. It’s when I can spend hours on end editing a photo or spending months
perfecting a painting that brings a sense of accomplishment. Just because a piece has been put up on a
wall, surrounded by fancy decor and you have been charge admission to see it,
doesn’t necessarily define anything as art. But, just because you don’t see the
meaning behind a piece or find a concept you can grab onto from it, doesn’t
mean that it is not art either.
The
inside of my mind is a tangle of weaving thoughts and concepts, which swerving
in and around each other created a web of ideas that sometimes cannot quite be
untangled no matter how hard I try to decipher them. Not everyone will
understand my photos or paintings and not everyone will like the music I write
or listen to. I understand that I come off in different ways to different
people because of my material rhetoric and the way I present myself. It comes
down to these facts about me though that determine what I create and if I cannot
always fully understand what’s going on in my mind or what thought goes where,
I don’t expect everyone else too either.
Art is what
you make of it. We are all human beings capable of our own thoughts, opinions,
tastes, and interests. I would never take away the beauty of art away from
someone because I either don’t understand or don’t take interest in it. The
only requirement to me is that you must have that drive, passion and connection
with what you create. Without any of that, your art isn’t art, it’s a glorified
hobby.
No comments:
Post a Comment