The Who and What

(Rachel K. Riggs
www.keenmedium.com See the website for this artist's opinion.)

I posted this on the last thread as an off-the-cuff rant on that topic. Catreona asked me to post it as a thread. Please take these comments for what they are: opinion only.

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On my 1st trip to Haifa, Isreal, I took a tour with one of the local kibutzs. A highlight of the tour, at least for me, was a brief visit at an artist's kabutz. It was explained to us that "all" of the residents of the kubutz, including the children, had to be artists and had to be voted in by the current membership. This seemed a little harsh at first, especially regarding the children, but the more i thought about it, the more sense it made.

Let's take Jessica (sorry to use you as a test case Jessica) as an example: she states that she "like(s) to do crocheting and needlepoint, and I've done a little quilting." Now that's ok. But, if we could see a picture, maybe, of one finished article, then we could judge its artfulness and welcome jessica as a full member. Or a description by the artist or another observer could do. One doesn't have to be Picasso, or Miles Davis, or Gunther Grass, or et al, to be an artist.

So, i looked in the dictionary to help define art, but it only seemed to be concerned with process and characteristics:

*the conscious use of skill, taste, and creative imagination in the production of aesthetic objects. (partial definition from Webster's 7th New Collegiate Dictionary, G & c. merriam co., 1976.)

that's a fair description of process, but what is art?

To me, art is an intention, a process, and an outcome. The intention is to create in order to express. The expression may take the form of banal beauty, or it may be intent on enlightment or exchange of ideas. The intent must be, but is not always necessairly, an attempt by the artist to "relate" to an audience even if the audience is a single person. The way in which the artist relates involves the process, or form, employed in conveying the communication. If the color, design, feel, or useful nature of Jessica's articles produce an emotional aesthetic or ambiance, then she has created art. Most often the receiver/audience determines what the communication has become no matter the intent of the artist. Some would say that the closer the audience is to the intent of the artist equals the success of the art, but i really don't like to narrow a plausability to the level of a near yes/no.

Vague? Sure, and intently so. Art has many descriptions and forms. As artists, i would include, but wouldn't limit the list to:

physical artists (painters, sculpters, jewelry makers, etc.)
musicians
dancers
poets and writers of literature
performance artists (talking about a vague description)
actors
story tellers
dreamers & liars (maybe)
film/video makers
(some) clothing designers
architects

The "what are we to do" portion should perhaps take the form of expressing the world as we would see/have it be. To attempt to create the mental image, a lasting image, that would cause people to wrestle with their own hearts and minds as to the right path we should take as a species. Will it be together, or apart? Will it be to ensure common health, or individual excess? Will it be to replace a face full of fear with a smile, or will it describe a coming holocast?

Sorry for being so dramatic. This is art after all.

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Also, from Catreona:

I think ART as such doesn't need to be overtly political but, yes, I agree that the best art conveys a vision of the world as the artist would have it. That's why Dark Fantasy, Horror and shading into pornography disturb me. It is possible that on some level such works portray the world as it is, or one dark vision as it is, but it does not strive for the betterment of the characters, the reader/viewer, the world at large. Such things may be very well crafted, but I hesitate to call them art. Beauty, on the other hand, be it majestic like Michelangelo's David or homey and humble llike a lovingly and well made quilt, is always a good, a lift to the spirit of the viewer and, thereby, makes the world better to some extent.

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What do you think???