i did a studio visit today
that led to a conversation about the human need to create… i remembered when i was a kid, maybe 10, seeing a documentary on poverty in america. a woman featured in it had several children and intended to have more, even though she couldn’t feed the ones she had. having a child was the only “creative” thing she had in her life — she was going to do it no matter the cost. even then i wondered, what is it that makes people need to make something? a desire to leave something behind? or more immediate — to prove there’s a reason to exist? if the process of creation validates an artist’s existence, does it matter if the “product” is ever seen by anyone else? or, is the art’s effect on the viewer what makes the “thing” art?
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for me, as someone who constantly makes something almost everyday…..I think mostly, it’s important to just realize the feeling or picture in my body…make it real. or dipict it somehow. make it a physical thing. and then stand there and look at it. figure out why things happen. or the importance of those things or situations that I pay attention to. sometimes, I make things especially for someone else as a way to communicate because words are so strange. (isnt my writing nonsensical (sp) ) soooo, I want someone or people or friends and family to look at what I make. it’s a way for me to communicate.
and then, when I look at what I make….and see what other artists are making….I feel out of place. my vocabulary is much different from theirs. I do not reference often, works of other artists from the past. my work is not political, it does not comment on global warming…….it does not speak of suffering people who are caught in between all the fighting…..does not speak of the beauty of form, or light, or anything like that. still, seeing and reading about all this art…..I make things. and I hope to convey or trigger some sort of feeling in another person. sooooo, I think…..for me, the making part of it is “art” …sometimes, when I think of something that I wish to make….that part of it is the “art” part……. the attention and connection to the thing I make with my viewer….is the art thing for me. hmmm….I might have gone in circles, or something like that. did I miss the point? maybe I write later …..have a good evening
I love this subject. For me it is the state of being that I reach when I am engaged in making my work. I am hyper present to the tedious and repetitive work of my eyes and hands, but my mind travels and that place is magic. How people respond, that people respond is an entirely separate part of the game. It would never be enough to sustain me or the work.
These are good questions to ask, but I’m not certain there is one general answer.
There are probably as many reasons to make art as there are people — if not more — and whether or not the artifact needs to be seen by anyone will largely depend on the reasons motivating its creation. If a person’s reason for making art is self-discovery / creation, then having it seen by others may be less important; if the reason is communication, then it become more important.
Individually, I think, it is a good idea for an artist to ask himself these question because the answers will help him determine his own artistic goals and objectives. Although, one should probably resist the temptation to generalize one artist’s answer to these question into a theory about all artist’s answers.
Thanks for the post!