I think I may have just figured out why I keep making art. I guess I've known it all along in the back of my mind, but only now has it even begun to click. I've always thought that we should be putting in a fair amount of time and effort into looking at, and trying to understand a work of art. To try to get into the head of the artist or at least take a work for more than face-value is the kind of thinking that enriches society by cultivating a sensitivity toward creation and an empathetic outlook towards the arts, and in turn, humanity, which will eventually lead us to a more grateful and fulfilling existence. When we put ourselves in the mind of the artist we are, in a sense, "using" their art for its intended purpose, which is to provoke thought. Too frequently, people fear that their thoughts or interpretations of a work may be wrong, and would rather just shrug off a work as "too deep" or "confusing," rather than be faced with the idea of being wrong. However, by considering even a possible explanation for a piece, you are unintentionally repaying, in full, the amount of time put into the work by the artist. Our current social climate leads us (and in some ways always has) to believe there is a disconnect between "regular people" and "artists," but, this is almost never the case, (and where it is, it shouldn't be.) I feel that this has come about more prevalent through years of consumption, media exposure and the internet. Sure social media has made it so artists and their viewer interact on a new plane that can change the viewers relationship to the art, but it mostly has caused images to be even more disposable. Everything is expected to be new, people can never stand to look at an "old thing." While this logic has certainly brought about some excellent work, it can only go so far before completely imploding on itself. Art has stopped fulfilling emotional need, and is now meant simply as a way for people to read into something before text has even been delivered. Everything has become throw-away material. As soon as you post days or months of work on the internet, it is immediately outdated. Someone, somewhere else, has done something even greater before you have even had the chance to reach your potential audience.
Coming to terms with this is pretty much daunting in every way you can look at it, but I now understand that it makes broadening your audience easier. The fact that people have expanded so drastically in the media they surround themselves with, means that my art is more likely to show up to them. Because now I know that I have an audience that I can expect to see my work, I know what I need to do in order to catch their eye and maintain their attention, as well as satisfy my own artistic needs. By having a larger audience, I'm able to test the waters in different ways. I can get a feel for what my followers look for, what grabs people's attention, and what gets them interested enough to spend more that a couple seconds on a work. Now, I'm still totally against this mass consumption and primal mindset that we've grown accustomed to, but I'm just trying to, at the very least, find some silver-lining in it. I still have had no pay off from my art as far as society is concerned, and I'm still completely frustrated at the world and myself and art. I guess all I can do is sit here and shake my ink-covered fist at it...
Art is so dumb, guys. *lighting bolt* *flame* *skull*
Totally. Toooooooootally.
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