Tim's post about game design and subsequent comments got me thinking about art. So I thought I'd post some of my musings about art and what I think art is.
Art is a very controversial thing. Ask 10 people what art is, you get 10 different totally conflicting answers. Religion, politics, and art: controversial, but oooh so fun.
Most art, good or bad, is an attempt to communicate an emotion. Paintings, music, fiction, movies, poetry, games, everything I could think of falls into this category. Expression in an artistic form is a desperate attempt to communicate to other humans the deep and real feelings that are inside ourselves. Even music without words is deeply emotional and trying very hard to communicate something. Even if you’re just creating art for the beauty of the thing, you’re trying to communicate an aspect of it that stirs something inside you.
And entertainment seems to be experiencing emotions through others’ artwork. When you’re channel flipping, aren’t you looking for something that excites you or moves you? Even if it just interests you a little bit, it’s from some emotional connection. The best movies make us laugh, or cry. Some people like to feel the emotion of fear, and that entertains them. The best books are the ones we have the deepest emotional connection with. You remember that painting because of how it made you feel.
Although I enjoy sitting back and being entertained sometimes, I have too much to say to simply be content with that. The desire to express and create is far too strong. The urge to communicate something has always driven me to create artwork.
Art is only beautiful in the extent that it reflects reality. It is not beautiful in and of itself, it is only beautiful when it reflects something of goodness, truth, or true beauty.
Art is a mirror. It reflects the world as seen through the eyes of the artist. It is a glimpse inside the way the artists views the world, and therefore it is making a truth claim about the real world. You see a beautiful portrait or a landscape and you say “Look! There is something of beauty in the world!” or sadness, or love, or hope, or confusion. This is why some modern art disturbs me deeply, they are saying, “Look, the world is chaos. The world is meaningless.”
Art is a powerful thing. You can say with art “Look, there is God in the world.”
Sunday, November 14, 2010
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Thank you for this insight!
ReplyDeleteEveryone consumes Art because of the curiosity to be in the place of someone else (their perspective of life). No-one can simply enjoy art without personifying themselves into the art. By these means, we can give a testimony through our art. The consumer can see someone who as been shocked by the power of God, and who has had their life transformed by something very, very beautiful~
Good post Bunny! :D There's nothing to add.
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