An artist is someone who views life as Art, and actively chooses to live it as such. Therefore, when an artist creates art, what you see is a self portrait of her soul, because one cannot create what one is not.
Sometimes a person gets "lucky" and born with an innate ability to control a tool and share her soul in a way that is considered great Art. Other times, and in my opinion more interesting, a person who feels a need for self expression, hones the tools necessary and then lives the life most true to how she wants to express it to the world.
That way, the artist is not doing anything but documenting her soul's story through a medium. The art therefore is a way of communicating, and thus the work is never a copy of something similarly done, but a story that the viewer is witnessing... this persons depth, wisdom, life experiences, thoughts, beliefs and intuition. Art is a soul's self portrait manifested in a way that speaks to our senses. Some works of art are less complex, less compelling than others and that can come from either lack of talent or technique, which is an inability to communicate effectively.
Sometimes a person gets "lucky" and born with an innate ability to control a tool and share her soul in a way that is considered great Art. Other times, and in my opinion more interesting, a person who feels a need for self expression, hones the tools necessary and then lives the life most true to how she wants to express it to the world.
That way, the artist is not doing anything but documenting her soul's story through a medium. The art therefore is a way of communicating, and thus the work is never a copy of something similarly done, but a story that the viewer is witnessing... this persons depth, wisdom, life experiences, thoughts, beliefs and intuition. Art is a soul's self portrait manifested in a way that speaks to our senses. Some works of art are less complex, less compelling than others and that can come from either lack of talent or technique, which is an inability to communicate effectively.
For me, the most important aspect of what an Artist is, is based on the choices she makes in her life. I do believe everyone has a natural born talent, and if nurtured whilst defying society norms, can bloom into a great talent. There are different degrees of artistry though, and the difference has to do with the subconscious and intuition, both which are still such a mystery to us. The level of degree in which a person is evolved enough to be naturally in-tuned or at least, not afraid of intuition and subconscious, equals the depth of artistry one grasps.
Now to take this one step further, an Artist can only create what consists of who she is, what her soul consists of, whether she comprehends that or not. She may not know how this image or idea came to her mind or why she chose this or that, but she often will say, "I don't know, but I knew... I just knew that was right. It felt right."
She can break it down technically, but that is neither here nor there, because a technically a "good" image is based on rules, and art is there to defy rules to create new rules to once again be broken. So great Art speaks to the soul, it is one soul communicating its depth and complexity to other souls in a language we cannot hear or understand, but intuitively and subconsciously feel, then decide if we like or dislike it.
The depth of her soul will equate to the depth of her art.
The depth of her soul will equate to the depth of her art.
What the challenge for the artist today is, is how do you speak to another soul when that other soul has been exposed to false imagery, manipulation and exploitation through years of media and other forms of visual communication based on Shock Value. The viewer's scope of what is "moving" is on what one feels at the moment of seeing, but one has already been exposed to so much mind manipulation in technology and marketing, the question is.... how can an artist, who is showing her truths compete with these corporate mind-games?
Now I get to my point. To me, what makes a great artist is someone who has a great story to tell. Not necessarily even a point of view or an issue to address. Just by living greatly, bravely and honestly - everything the artist touches becomes more than just a painting or photograph etc... it is the soul's portrait, and the viewer can feel it instinctively.
Congruently, the soul of the viewer is feeling something compelling, so the viewer keeps looking and deeply feels something, simply because the artist decided that she must live life fully and fearlessly and portray it. This is scary and exciting for the viewer and beats any marketing advertisement, because it speaks a level of truth that everyone yearns to experience. The freedom to live and feel deeply.
Art should transcend your reality, it should ask you to inquire within yourself why you are moved by that piece of work, because that feeling is what your body is craving.
Most likely the artist explored emotional journeys that took her to the great depths of hell and to the highest clouds of heaven, hence, the cliche of what it means to be a suffering artist.
The point I'm making is that the Artist was not afraid to GO THERE, for the sake of seeking knowledge and life experience. If she is courages enough to define her own rules of what success means, what "making it"means, then she is a walking human piece of art... and inspiring others to be the same.
Congruently, the soul of the viewer is feeling something compelling, so the viewer keeps looking and deeply feels something, simply because the artist decided that she must live life fully and fearlessly and portray it. This is scary and exciting for the viewer and beats any marketing advertisement, because it speaks a level of truth that everyone yearns to experience. The freedom to live and feel deeply.
Art should transcend your reality, it should ask you to inquire within yourself why you are moved by that piece of work, because that feeling is what your body is craving.
Most likely the artist explored emotional journeys that took her to the great depths of hell and to the highest clouds of heaven, hence, the cliche of what it means to be a suffering artist.
The point I'm making is that the Artist was not afraid to GO THERE, for the sake of seeking knowledge and life experience. If she is courages enough to define her own rules of what success means, what "making it"means, then she is a walking human piece of art... and inspiring others to be the same.
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