A new thread.

[Beowulf]

No, not a poem. I was thinking of something Satyr said:

@Satyr

It lends itself to interpretation.

The artist has to simply provide a context upon which the observer can project himself.
The audience needs to work and should not be passive.

Of course, I do prefer more realistic obvious art because there the artist’s skill is more important and his effort more significant.
A line on canvas cannot be considered art, for me, unless one can gage the artist’s intent.

Intent, I think, is important.
Similarly random words cannot be considered a poem, unless they exhibit an intentional direction which inspires and focuses the observer’s thoughts and emotions.

But that leads us into a conversation about art.

A new thread would be interesting.

Art is too complex to pin down to just one idea. It’s such a nebulous concept that it’s almost impossible to catagorize. But my personal philosophy of art is that it should be a catalyst for one’s own examination and discovery of beauty, truth and feeling. As Satyr says, art can supply the inspiration and help focus your insights into a particular thought or feeling. In that sense, art is a clue or suggestion of something. It’s more a vague treasure map than a concise road map. At least to me.

I’d welcome any insight into the nature of art.

[btrflykng9]

I find that whatever I’m creating–a drawing, painting, poem, story, etc. is a means by which I tell myself something that is buried in my subconscious so far that the strain of getting it out in the art is my effort to figure out what it is. Ocassionally even after I’ve finished what I’m working on I don’t know what it means to me until something happens or is said later to show me.

I guess what I’m saying is that art is a pretty vague road map for me as well. Though, more and more I’m finding that I’ll produce a number of more vague poems that lead up to a final version that is specific–sometimes the final version pretty closely resembles the rough drafts but other times the final version is a completely different idea than the preliminary ones. I guess this shows how hard it can be to get down to what is really in your head at a given moment, what you want to say to yourself.

[lengthheightwidth]

I guess what I’m saying is that art is a pretty vague road map for me as well. Though, more and more I’m finding that I’ll produce a number of more vague poems that lead up to a final version that is specific–sometimes the final version pretty closely resembles the rough drafts but other times the final version is a completely different idea than the preliminary ones. I guess this shows how hard it can be to get down to what is really in your head at a given moment, what you want to say to yourself.

This also relates to being a visual artist in that sometimes you will often have numerous sketches on the way to the finished piece. Sometimes, some of the sketches barely resemble the finished piece while at other times there are just minor differences.

N.