Experiencing Art

Art is not a product or a thing.  Art is a process; a journey.  It’s an experiment in the perception of the world around you.  It’s your own unique perception that you share with another person.  Art connects you with another person.  That makes art personal.

Art is not a painting or a sculpture or a photograph.  It’s not a poem or a song or a dance.  It’s not a hand-woven rug or blanket or a hand-knitted scarf or sweater.  But, art IS the experience and human connection enjoyed by the people whose hearts and minds and souls are touched by the creative process bound up in each and every one of these things.

True art includes the often uncomfortable action of putting it out there in the world for people to appreciate, criticize, or ignore.  You can’t keep it to yourself and call it art.  It must be shared.  But once shared, each person who interacts with it has the right to love it, like it, hate it, despise it, be impressed or unimpressed, intrigued or irritated.  

You’ve released it into the world. Whatever their perception, they’re not wrong. It’s their own unique perception of the world around them, just as the creation of it was yours.

However, when you see an artwork that disagrees with you or makes you uneasy...ask yourself why and don’t dismiss it too quickly.  You've just stumbled across an opportunity for introspection.

To me, true art can’t be about money. But it’s not wrong if someone happens to demonstrate their appreciation of it by valuing it more than they value a certain sum of money in their bank account, whatever that sum may be.  And if they place no value on it at all, that doesn’t make it worthless.  It’s only worthless to them.  If it’s worthless to them, then it probably was never meant for them in the first place.  

Making art is a personal expression.

Perceiving art is a personal impression.  

Experiencing art?  Well...that’s both.