Now Processing

Art is vulnerable. Anything can be art.

Art doesn't have to be deep, locked behind a humanities education, hidden away in museums. That is art, sure, but there's also everything else that can be called art. Art is intention. Art is expression. Art is art, made for art's sake. You can make art.

And I know it's not easy, because art doesn't feel like something anyone can make. And yet, it is.

"A red square? I could make that."

"But you didn't."

I don't know where I came across this, but this was the beginning of my understanding of abstract art that I didn't really see the value of before. Because I could see the value of photorealistic paintings made on canvases and oil paint by classical artists because it took them years of training and skill to create something like that. But a red square? I could do that. But I hadn't.

I was still a long way from what my understanding of art is now, which was a redefinition I needed for the better.

It is a fact that art is seen as a financial investment. The value of art is almost arbitrary. Buy it, sell it, auction it, display it, donate it. It is dependent on who the artist is, but it's also a little made up. (Which is true for a lot of things, I've come to realize. The price of something doesn't dictate its inherent value, the price is just what someone is willing to pay for it. This goes for art as much as for what you're paid for your time for work.) Is a million-dollar painting of a single color splashed on a canvas more valuable than a stick figure of you made in crayon by a child that has no features that resemble you?

So, what does an understanding of art get you? What is being cultured? And if you don't have the capacity to identify a Rembrandt, does this mean you're less cultured, and by implication, inferior due to the education you did or didn't receive? Why isn't simply enough to see a work of art and feel something, even if you can't put it into words? Is only someone who has been taught art history capable of looking at a painting and saying they like it and have their opinion mean something?

I used to believe all of that. And then I realized, this goes against what I believe to be true about learning, and also, people. If I believed the wealth a person had didn't determine their worth, why did I believe that the dollar value of art determined if it was more important? And why should we be only elevating the art that holds monetary value instead of celebrating everything else that everyday people create, just because they don't have a Wikipedia page? And if I also believed that the learning should be accessible to all and not be kept behind a price tag only a few could afford, why did I believe that art should only exist in places which weren't accessible?

What was pivotal in this realization, was Make Art or Die Trying by Stuart Semple, even though I didn't quite realize it when I was reading it. My notes from this book are the art exercises, but what I remember from it was the introduction where he talked about what he considered art. It informs his work, which did reach notoriety on the internet, over the fight for the world's blackest black paint. It's what he was doing with this book, where he does go into what I imagine you learn when you pay for art education. Making art accessible, and helping people make art, regardless of whether they would call themselves an 'artist'.

If you put intention behind something, it can be art. If you're expressing yourself, it is art, no matter what the medium is. If you make art and share it, you're an artist. Even if it's not original, it can be transformative. Originality is overrated anyway. Resonance is what this is all about.

A part of what inspired me to write this today was a YouTube video. Not the one I've written about before, although I'd call that art too. It was the final episode of a game playthrough. And why I think of it as art isn't even because of the game itself, Omori. It's not even just the playthrough, which is done by Brady, a therapist, who talks about mental health and therapy concepts in relation to the narrative of the game. I've seen playthroughs by others I would never call art. Which, yes, goes against what I said when I said anything can be art, but there's something more to it. Art requires vulnerability too. Sharing something of yourself. Near the last few minutes of the playthrough, Brady talks about how he's tried every coping mechanism in the book but what worked for him was talking to himself and recording that, which is a practice he's been doing for four years. He didn't even listen back to it when he first started doing it. But when he did go back and hear it, he realized he wasn't being kind to himself, and that's what started his journey towards a better relationship with himself (this is a truncated, simplified version of what he says). And then, at the end of the video, he shares some of those recordings, with pictures of himself from that time, in the style of the game. And how can you not call that art and say it's just someone playing a video game? The game might have been the medium, but that vulnerability resonates, and that is what art is all about.

But the thing about art is that it defies being pinned down. You can look at a white wall and call it art.

Art for me is vulnerability, but art for you might be commercially profitable, well-regarded, made-by-an-artist art. Which is what's fun and also frustrating about art as someone who likes unambiguity.

So, my definition of art isn't defined. It's still evolving and I suspect it will keep doing that. But it is more open than what it was a year ago, which is good. And I hope this makes you consider expanding what you think counts as art, and what art means to you.

But also, everyone should have access to art art too, whether or not someone considers them qualified to see it. More people should see what people have made throughout history and also be encourage to give it a try. Go paint your red square, put all of your rage inside it, or love, call it art and share it with someone.

I linked some of these in the post and since they're worth checking out, I'm sharing them here again.