Our knowledge of art

Conduct a survey. When you are at work or the next time you are out with friends, ask them to name a living artist whose works they enjoy. I bet you’ll get a lot of blank stares. If you ask them to mention an artist in general, you will probably get a lot of answers containing Picasso, VanGogh, Monèt, Dali, etc… and not that there is anything wrong with these artists, they are all legendary and fantastic in their own rite, but they are also names that we, as a nation, have been hearing and seeing since grammar school.

Nothing new was ever introduced; providing that art studies become less and less important as we grow into adulthood, most of us don’t bother to venture out to seek new creators. People have become detached from their artistic communities – more than anything else, people are using art as a decorative piece or as something that compliments the colors of their living room. To purchase a piece of artwork because it matches your draperies instead of purchasing it because it sparks an emotion of passion from within is very, very sad.

The life of an artist

It’s a tough thing sometimes to be an artist. When people ask what it is that I do for a living, it is usually followed by the comment, “Oh. So what else do you do?” As though being an artist isn’t something anyone could possible take seriously, when in fact, it is often more serious than a lot of professions out there. It’s easy to choose the road of the cushy office job that pays well with full benefits and vacation/sick time. However, it’s not so easy to choose a life when you often live week to week hoping you’ll sell something so you can pay rent at the end of the month and maybe put a bit of food in the fridge.

To choose a life that requires a constant outpour of emotion onto a tangible surface and only, every so often, having someone who can relate to it enough to want to purchase it is one of the most difficult things to do.  So why do we bother? – Because we know our options. In spite of realizing that we could choose a career with better financial gain, we chose this life. Hell, as tough as it can be sometimes, most of us love this life and couldn’t imagine anything else.

Expand your horizons

So next time you’re thinking of something to do, go to a local art gallery on opening night. It’s free and there are usually snacks and wine. Support your local artists and galleries even if you have no intention of buying anything – you may even be surprised and stumble upon something you can’t live without. Network, meet new people, gain new contacts and possibly a few new friends. Get your culture on! Do this, and you might discover that art is not dead.  It is tired; it is spread thin and exploited, stolen and unrecognized, emailed and unappreciated.  It is resting.  It is sleeping.  It is regaining its strength, slumbering in the depths of the souls of the people who recognize it most.  It is patient in waiting for the world to once again acknowledge the beauty of human expression – uncensored and flowing from the body, as it is intended – original and untouched – a hint of innocence mixed with a dash of cynicism…

For an example of some great ongoing and upcoming exhibitions, look up the Govinda Gallery @ www.govindagallery.com.

Image from amayzun.