Musings, ramblings upon a blank page….
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....does anyone ever really give a flip about what an artist says about the definition of art? It is a never ending mystery of how we can reduce or explain the visual experiencing of art with words...beyond saying “hey, you should go see that”, it is all just so much verbal pontificating. Then there is this curious thing about asking artists, in their artist robes, their views on every unrelated to art subject one can think of. We humans have this thing that anyone successful in one area is de facto an expert in philosophy, politics, food, blowing bubbles and so on.
In my days as a photographer I was in that trap of trying to define art, it’s expression, techniques, blah, blah, etc., then a photographer friend, having crawled out of the trap long ago, said to me in exasperated tones “Bill, what is art?” …. getting ready expound once again he cut me off and said “Bill, art is”….”that’s it, it simply is”…..Such a simple statement and that pretty much covers it, so those very pregnant two words is about all I ever want to say in trying to define art.
But I do enjoy talking about the “process” of making art, however that process is definitive only as it applies to me as every artist has his/her own process that is uniquely theirs. There are some wonderful quotes from some of the greats about being an artist, their process, and inner turmoil of making art that have jumped out at me over the years so below are some of my favorites:
—Picasso
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
—Picasso
“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”
—Kandinsky
“The artist must have something to say, for mastery over form is not his goal but rather the adapting of form to its inner meaning.
… That is beautiful which is produced by the inner need, which springs from the soul.”
—Hemingway
“That terrible mood of depression of whether it's any good or not is what is known as The Artist's Reward.”
—Warhol
“An artist is somebody who produces things that people don't need
to have.”
—G. Moses
“A primitive artist is an amateur whose work sells.”
—O’Reilly (Poet)
“For a dreamer lives forever and a toiler dies in a day.”
In my days as a photographer I was in that trap of trying to define art, it’s expression, techniques, blah, blah, etc., then a photographer friend, having crawled out of the trap long ago, said to me in exasperated tones “Bill, what is art?” …. getting ready expound once again he cut me off and said “Bill, art is”….”that’s it, it simply is”…..Such a simple statement and that pretty much covers it, so those very pregnant two words is about all I ever want to say in trying to define art.
But I do enjoy talking about the “process” of making art, however that process is definitive only as it applies to me as every artist has his/her own process that is uniquely theirs. There are some wonderful quotes from some of the greats about being an artist, their process, and inner turmoil of making art that have jumped out at me over the years so below are some of my favorites:
—Picasso
“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”
—Picasso
“It took me four years to paint like Raphael, but a lifetime to paint like a child.”
—Kandinsky
“The artist must have something to say, for mastery over form is not his goal but rather the adapting of form to its inner meaning.
… That is beautiful which is produced by the inner need, which springs from the soul.”
—Hemingway
“That terrible mood of depression of whether it's any good or not is what is known as The Artist's Reward.”
—Warhol
“An artist is somebody who produces things that people don't need
to have.”
—G. Moses
“A primitive artist is an amateur whose work sells.”
—O’Reilly (Poet)
“For a dreamer lives forever and a toiler dies in a day.”