Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Reality

A gloomy and hazy Tuesday to you!

The weather has not been so fine here the last few days but that is ok by me.  I am still recovering from my 3 1/2 day stint in the hospital for an infection (lesson learned: pain=warning from your body).

Anyway, unfortunately, because I am still recovering I haven't had a lot of time to devote to finding new great artworks or anything like that.  However, I am still pondering the whole idea of what makes art great and I have a few more thoughtful quotes to share by the some person (tweets by Image Journal during a seminar given by Andy Crouch).

An ecosystem is a living system that channels energy in order to create abundance - Andy Crouch
Perhaps this doesn't seem like it directly relates to art but I would argue that it does. Art has to do with energy and abundance.

a piano teacher told me I couldn't play Beethoven b/c I hadn't suffered enough. Said to try again at age 40. - Andy Crouch   And it also is connected to suffering of some kind.  This may be where the melancholic artist comes in?

I think part of the reason I'm struggling so much with this blog is I'm not being myself. I think art is good and beautiful but can also show the struggle of creation and pain and longing (there is some beauty in that too I guess).  Art is not perfect and what I want for art is not perfect. 

Since I am still struggling with so much of my vision, I think I am going to go back to doing short reviews of artworks.  It will expose more artwork and help me grow as a writer as well as define more clearly where I see this going.
Until next time (which will have an artwork)...

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

What is Art?

Happy Tuesday!

I have been having a rough week or so--I have been extremely under the weather but I am finally recovering I hope.

Last week, at the end of my blog, I talked about wishing that art meant something. I have put a few quotations below on what people think art is (or isn't for that matter). Maybe there are people out there who have different ideas about art than I do (that is guaranteed). In the spirit of the political debates, let's debate what we think art is.  I'm sure this will be a very spirited discussion!!


A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament.
Oscar Wilde 


An artist is somebody who produces things that people don't need to have.
Andy Warhol


The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls.
Pablo Picasso


The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.
Aristotle


I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way - things I had no words for.
Georgia O'Keeffe


The highest art is always the most religious, and the greatest artist is always a devout person.
Abraham Lincoln


Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.
Henry Ward Beecher


Do you agree?  Disagree?

Until next time...

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Democratization of Art-Good?

Although I do feel that there are some downfalls to the democratization of art, there are obvious good things about it too!

In the late 1800's and in the early 1900's, French salons became a big thing. I am not speaking of gatherings of people together to share art or music and refine intellectual ideas.  I am speaking to the large exhibitions where artworks where shown. It was a recent collection of paintings, and possibly drawings, that were chosen by the Academy.
In those French salons, it was possible that great artists were left out because they did not conform to the ideas of the Academy.  I think this could also be said of museums today.  Although there are many different art museums (contemporary, modern, etc) there is so much art that is not shown (some of it has to do with space, etc).
However, some of it also has to do with who and what is influencing art.  The thoughts and philosophies of the day influence what art is seen and considered good. I am truly interested and love contemporary art. But, the kind of contemporary art I long to see if almost never at a contemporary art museum. Sad, right?

Who decides what is considered "good art" anyway?

Technology and the internet have opened the doors to have more people express and promote their artistic talents and ambitions. Also, you no longer need to go to a large gallery or public/private museum to view amazing works, you can just view them on your computer (while there is still something to be said about seeing a work of art in person, it is amazing to have access to so many masterpieces).  There are many forums where one can view amazing contemporary and, for me, digital artworks.

I am tired of art that is a commentary of itself. I want something with substance. I want art that means something.  Although that is probably a topic for another day.

Until next time...


Friday, October 5, 2012

Five Things Friday--Twittering Away

Happy Friday all!

It has been an exciting week to say the least.  First, C and I gave up watching TV during the week.  It's amazing how much more time we've had (although I still haven't been able to blog...where does the time go?) and how much cleaner our house is. Second, I finally decided to sign up for a Twitter account and I have discovered what everyone was raving about!  It is so nice to get so much "news" at a glance (especially since I'm following so many different things).


So here are five areas where I found twitter to be helpful and an example of who I am following.


1) I wanted to stay on top of different opportunities within my profession (just a side note that I currently love my job but it doesn't hurt to be prepared to know when life may change).  I am admin in my "real" life and I am constantly trying to better myself--learning more technologies, better ways to manage time, how to be a leader, etc. A few people I am following are @JuliePerrine, founder of All Things Admin and @IAAP, the professional organization I belong to.

2) I work in the health care industry so I wanted to stay on top of some breaking technologies and how that is affecting my field.  I am following @DailyNewsGW, the tweets for Genome Web Daily, an update on different genomic and other life science news. So far this has not been specifically helpful but it may be because I don't always understand all the terminology.



3) I want to stay on top of art, especially digital art so I am following @deviantART and a few others.  Obviously, this is not the end all be all list but it is helpful when I don't have a lot of time.

4) Since I am trying to start a nonprofit, I found a few people to follow who can provide lots of insights such as @nonprofitorgs



5) And lastly, remember I said that I love my kindle, there are TONS of tweets about free kindle books like @TheeReaderCafe. 

That is the end of this adventure into birdland but I would appreciate any tips for this twittering newbie.

How do you decide who to follow?  What are you tips?  How many people is too many?

Until next time...