Monday, February 06, 2006

The True Definition of Art...

I had a moment today where I was listening to some music and the lyrics just jumped out and hit me like a freight train. It was beautiful. I've only rarely been affected by a piece of art this much before. It made me think about what art really is. What do others consider art? And why is it that only certain pieces of art can affect certain people?

Art, now adays, in all forms is seldom appreciated and often treated with disdain, contempt, and ridicule. This is a damn shame. Let's take music for instance. It's poetry. That's exactly what it is, yet the people I see hooked up to their I Pods or MP3 players are the ones who give poetry the hardest rap. "Oh man this is so boring! I don't understand the metaphors or anything...this is stupid I don't know how people can read this crap." Why is it that they are able to listen, understand, and apppreciate the metaphors in music as opposed to regular poetry?

I realised that it's the music itself that is what gives the words a lasting impression on the listener. Lyrics seem more profound and meaningful when sung. Even then, only certain songs really reach out and touch us. Same with Visual Art, like paintings, ceramics, blown glass. etc. No matter how many pieces of art you see in a gallery there are only few that really stand out in your mind, and for one reason or another really struck a cord with you. I believe that is what art really is.

An artist once told me, "it doesn't matter how many people pass by my art without so much as a second glance, if only one person out of the multitude stops to look...then I have succeeded. I have made a connection with that person, even if it's unintentional. Now they are going to go home and be forced to think about what they saw." That one person was able to appreciate what others just dismissed as, "another piece of art..." I've learned that you have to be able to connect and feel something from the art. For that reason not all art can be appreciated as it should be by everyone, rather all art can be appreciated as it should be by someone.

2 comments:

Alex Iskandar said...

Art kinda signifies individuality, doesn't it?

thesexyswede said...

Yes indeed it does... I think that's what's missing in our society nowadays, the sense of individuality.