I had a great discussion with my good friend Austin tonight about what art can and should be. The subject stemmed from a more specific question of what does it take to not only be successful, but to make a name for yourself as an artist that stands the test of time.
Art should be a testament of emotion, whether it be your own or not, and not just an aesthetically pleasing combination of sounds or colors.
There is nothing more essentially human than an emotion.
Austin said that today his fortune cookie told him in music “to feel with your mind, and think with your heart,” and I couldn’t agree more. Many people I know are often too afraid to look within their own heart out of fear of what they might discover. Those are the people that consume like ominous vacuums the popular music and visual art of today. They use it as a distraction, an excuse to avoid feeling something real. And there’s nothing wrong with it. The world is terrifying enough as it is between wars, famines, stress, diseases, and poverty. And to ask someone to recognize any conflicts within themselves at the same time is enough to drive a person insane.
Artists such as Monet, Beethoven, Cobain, and many others all faced their emotions head on, dove into them, analyzed them, denied them, fought them, loved them, and formed them into a creation to share with the rest of us so that we could know and feel with them and maybe even learn.
30 years from now, will a performance of Katy Perry’s “California Gurls” be remembered as one of the most powerful expressions of human nature of all time?Probably not. Sure it’ll make a good montage song of when we reminisce of the days of our youth.
But you will never forget the way you felt after your first heartbreak, and suddenly a song you had been listening to your whole life, gained complete new meaning for you. The singer’s pain is palpable in the melody. The words take you back to the moment when the first person you ever loved shattered your world. The drums make your heart feel heavier with every beat. The bass cradles you in it’s arms and the guitar cries for you.
“Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one.” ~Stella Adler
Today, find your favorite painting, book, song, performance piece, or what have you, and let it consume you. Let go and dive in.
