Invisible Words
“ ‘I’m no artist, but I don’t think the point of art is to mean, I think it’s to render. If it doesn’t do that, if it needs a plaque to explain it, it’s not art. It’s like nature- what does a bird mean by its song? What does a flower mean when it blooms? It means beauty. Any explanation beyond that is superfluous.’ ”
I was reading a novel that had nothing to do with art whatsoever, but this caught my attention right away. I immediately saw a distinct parallel to the artist statement I created for my senior art show. (You’ll find my statement below). As an art student you talk about the purpose of art a lot. All my professors stressed the need to create on purpose.
After all my art classes I realized my purpose in art seemed to stray further and further from the rest of my peers. This especially occurred when we studied abstract, installation, or performance art. We would always have to evaluate each piece- What does it mean? What was the artist trying to show?
I would get so frustrated because I was rarely on the right track in my interpretation. To me, every meaning a piece was supposed to portray would have needed a plaque to explain it. And even then I had a hard time seeing it. I thought- what’s the point? If only a select few are going to comprehend the purpose of your art it’s not doing it’s job. (I guess unless they are trying to be unreachable to the common person) Do they really think that walking back and forth in a room or smashing some object is going to be understood by the passersby? If we're honest with ourselves, it seems that much of art that tries to 'mean' is just noise, just an attempt to raise a hair or appear profound. Obviously the purpose of art is a broad topic that could be discussed at length, and I'm not trying to discount artists who make 'meaningful' art, because it undeniably means something to them. I'm just exploring the notion of art being meaningful just by it's beauty, not by its explanation.
Reading this passage from my book reiterated to me why I make art. I make art to make something beautiful. I want to create something that people see and like. Something that doesn’t have to have a deeper meaning about tragedy or the social issue of the day. Something that doesn't have to induce anger or change or conviction or elite and hollow thought. I don’t think people want that. I don’t think people are searching for that. I think people are drawn to beauty. They’re drawn to things that don’t need explanation. People want things to make sense. I want my art and my creations to be that.
Is there a place for ‘meaningful’ art? I suppose there are people that find value in that, although wouldn't they be the creator, the artist? It's valuable because it's their own. But then, they don’t need an explanation of their own work. They already know what it is and to them it’s not superfluous. That in a way can be therapeutic for the artists themselves. I can see that and respect it. But then maybe it’s therapy, not art.
My art is taken from photographs of places I or others have been. It's taken from things people would like to look at. It's often taken from nature. It is beautiful by the colors, by the memories, by the image. None of which need explanation.
Paul’s words come to mind- “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.” What the perfect example of art that needs no explanation. God created all of nature and no one is left needing a commentary. It is clear to all people that there is a very powerful Creator. (Whether people want to admit it or not.) And it is no doubt beautiful.
I am inspired by God's example to create as he did- for all to understand and to see as beautiful. And maybe even point to him as the Ultimate and Powerful Creator. After all, he created us just like he created the mountains and the waters- to reflect him. And he is very accessible.
As an artist I don’t try to mean. I try to render. Any further explanation is superfluous.
Brittany Shield's Artist Statement:
What did you make today? What did you create today? What did your hands have to say? Your hands talk when they move, fast or slow, when they hold, tight or loose. Your mind talks when it chooses, black or white, when it directs, dull or sharp. Your heart talks when it sees, when it feels, when it cares, when it doesn’t. What did I make today? Draw, paint, sculpt, print, shape, shade, shift. Maybe. And when I did, did it count? Does it need to? I want to make, create, generate, design, refine, make it mine, make it yours. Make it wanted. I want to do what is taken, and if I’m not mistaken it’s desired. Do you want it? Do you want what my hands have said, what my mind has chosen, and what my heart felt it should? It has to be new enough, broken enough, practical enough, gut-wrenching enough, proper enough. Wanted enough. It has to be yours. And if it’s not yours, then it’s mine. It’s what I made today, and it’s what I made yesterday, tomorrow, three years from now. It’s a piece of life, joy or strife, kiss or knife. It’s an image, a memory, a wish, a time. It’s what I have to say. It’s all I can give, all I can do, and all that you’ll have. It’s not part of a group, it’s not taking instruction. It doesn’t need to. To be in that group is confining to freedom, rejecting the expected, ignoring desirability, tricking the mind’s capability, assuming the unknown, and making you find out what you think, what you should think, what they want you to think. But I don’t. I give you what you want. I let you think what you need to. My art finds its way to the place it’s supposed to. I make to replicate my memories, create to fabricate yours, generate to state the obvious, the old and the new, what you want and what I can do. Don’t think too hard, what you see is what you get. Usually. And I made it today.