Ways of Seeing II

Look Harder

If you missed Ways of Seeing I this won’t make quite as much sense, so go and check that out first and then rush back here for the next installment. For those who are on the Ways of Seeing train already, keep reading … but before you do a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who has got involved in the #20DAYSOFSEEING over on Instagram in the last week. I really appreciate it and I’m loving seeing all your posts on the various themes.

And now, on with the blog post …..

This week I want to look at bit more into art and how we see it.

What is Art?

Sometimes considered an existential question the answer, in my opinion, is quite simple. Art is anything created with a sole purpose, to convey a message that elicits a response. Where things get complicated is when we rank these creations in order of importance. Granted, some obvious distinctions are valuable, you wouldn’t rank Motzart’s Cosi Fan Tutte in the same category as Baby Shark …. I’m sorry for the ear worm CLICK HERE to get rid of it!! … Likewise, Leonardo’s Mona Lisa isn’t comparable to Banksy’s ‘Self Destruct’… or is it!?  

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The Arts, Visual Art in particular, hasn’t escaped the shackles of tradition. Since virtually the beginning of art history, art, politics and power all go hand in hand. With these influences come merit classifications which, to this day, have a place but rather than letting them be the dictator I think it’s always worth considering another angle.

What if we took all the categorization away and viewed art without any presupposition from external definitions and just looked, leaving the reading of the piece to our own mind, in the moment. This opens the door of interpretation and experience wide open and allows art to function in the way it is meant to, giving the viewer time to engage, think and respond.

Why Does Art Exist?

More possible existentialism here but let’s not go there!

Every artist will have a different reason for producing their art but all artists are driven by an innate need to create. Some will do so simply for themselves while for others the sharing of that work with an audience will be part of the artistic process and then there is everyone on between.  What is inescapable is the role of expression. Art exists as a form of communication, arguably one of the most powerful ones as it is so closely linked to emotion and is so personal both to the artist and the viewer . It can be difficult to remember this in the hub bub of predominant noise of price tags and auction results that seems to dominate the most in everyday talk about art

Where is Art?

Apart from the obvious places you might be surprised if you start to keep a focused eye out for it. Being in my profession I can’t help but spot it everywhere from doctor’s waiting rooms to tv programmes…yes, I’m that person, haha!  It’s all over the place! One of the main objectives of #20DAYSOFSEEING is to get everyone looking for art in their everyday activities. That’s why you can choose any of the themes in any order. So, keep your eyes peeled and when you see it, snap a picture and share it on Instagram using the hashtag, #20DAYSOFSEEING

P.S  When at all possible please also share the artist’s name in your posts.

More to come on this topic of where is art in next week’s post… stay tuned!!