As a lover of serendipity, finding food for thought on the
tag of my morning chai is as tasty a treat as the sweet tea itself.
And this one got me thinking about the artists I know and love.
The one thing they all have in common is the genuine feeling and spirit that
infuses their work, grabs our attention and keeps us looking. Lacking that, I
don’t think they would create, they are givers, sharing their vision of this
world and perhaps a possible better one.
The one thing they cannot create is our response, they need
us to supply that time and energy. And we all have to see with our hearts as
well as our eyes, because that will lead us to the truth, difficult as it may
be.
Are there really any wrong ways to see? Perhaps not
technically, but in the art world we can be tempted to see things that are not
there rather than simply look at what is.
Some see with ego, they will not praise excellence or beauty
unless there is something in it for them.
We can all be tempted to see with vanity when everybody else
says something is wonderful and we want to be included. Or we pretend to
understand the incomprehensible not to seem foolish.
It is also possible to see only through the filters of our
values – money, religion, past experience, cultural immersion – all color the
way we look at a work of art. This is not always a negative, but it can be enlightening to also drop those pre-conceptions and notice the difference.
Often when encountering exceptional work there is a shift in
my senses, sometimes can almost hear it humming or speaking to me, feel warmly
or coolly, even have it pull me in or push back. Great art engages you.
And that is what it is made for.
tag by Yogi Tea, background detail of panel by Mark Wiener
