Abstract Artists, Every One of us!
Is each and every one of us an abstract artist?
Absolutely!
“How so?” you might ask. “I don’t even paint!”
To me the most simplistic definition of art is the “creative expression of an idea or emotion”. We are all capable of creative expression. We creatively express ourselves on a daily basis. We do it when we speak, laugh, tell a joke, sing, draw, design, dress, cook, paint, dance, compose… We “paint” pictures with words, we move people to tears with poetry. It is often in a rather abstract manner.
Now, some would argue that such a definition causes confusion when trying to determine who is a “professional” artist and who is not. I agree that it complicates things and may seem to belittle serious artists but there is no denying the very essence of art and what it really is. I don’t think art can or should be defined based on who makes money with it or even by who is good at it. The basic qualifying criteria of any artwork, following my simple definition, is whether or not it is successful at being able to express what it is that it attempted to express. Now, what happens is that there are so many instances where this is just barely achieved and other times when it is masterfully done. Is it art in all these instances? I say it is. And yet, we do reserve the right to proclaim one artwork (or performance) as great (maybe only in our own eyes), and another as just not very good at all, based on our response.
The bottom-line is that we are all creative. We say and do things with flair and with color so our true meaning comes through clearly. The way we do it is sometimes unorthodox, we exaggerate, we adlib. We don’t simply “testify” to our thoughts as though we’re in a courtroom. We express it succinctly, with finesse and by abstraction.
So ask yourself, “Me, an Abstract artist?”
You bet!
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February 23rd, 2007 at 12:56 am
Thank you for your kind comment. I fear abstract and writer are mutually exclusive, but I hope to approach life as an abstract artist
February 23rd, 2007 at 1:18 am
Knight, while the terms abstract and writer may seem to have no relationship, if you were to apply the term abstract to the method of communication rather than the subject, it may apply. I think many writers will often take a concrete subject and describe it in rather abstract ways for a better message. Examples are irony, parody, metaphor…
Thanks for your thoughts!
February 24th, 2007 at 12:41 am
Just to say how much I like your work, your philosophy and your site. We are singing form the same hymn sheet.
March 20th, 2007 at 1:27 pm
Hello Fellow artist, I love your work and i have just designed an art directory site just for art related sites like yours. please check it out and add your site/blog to it.
Regards
Kathryn