What Art!

What Art!

I do think we can agree to the fact there is art in everything around us, in everything we do. Whether it be in writing, composing, sculpting, painting, drawing, photographing etc. Art on the other hand isn't only an active side of our lives. It has also a passive side, looking, hearing, feeling, smelling, tasting, playing, enjoying etc. For some reason I get the feeling that the people that are active in art in whatever way, tend to make a humongoues thing out of art. They, the artists, their critics, all people making (or trying to) a living out of art, tell the world, which incidentally is us, what is great art and what is not.
The ones on the passive side of art tend to believe what artists and critics tell about art. This leads to an undersirable effect. Art "approved" by the loudest artists and their loudest critics (or suitors), gets a "fit-for-museum" stamp and thus is removed from the view of the passive art lover. Prices for these artworks are so high only the rich and famous can afford to hang it on their walls or place it in their homes, thus extracting these artworks from view. Rather sad to know that a lot of works of art simply vanish to private collections, or end up in a museum. To make it even worse the complete circus is paid by the public. Two things can be said about the vast majority of this public. One, they are the passive art-lovers and two, they hardly ever visit a museum. In short, the publc is deprived of lots and lots of works of art.

Art is not intended for the happy few. Art should be mainstream and be accepted by large numbers of people. Impressions of our heritage, our world, are nearly always praised by anyone. Analog to this is another artform, music can be divided into music for the millions and music for small groups of style lovers. One cannot say that the one form or style of music is better than the other. Similar to music one can't possibly say one art form or style is better than the other. Please keep looking around for the things that make life beautiful for that is what art is all about. Art is NOT about museums that hide away their precious possessions in immense buildings where most people never tread.

 

Next time I will give you some examples of art "approved" by critics and art worshipped by the general public.

www.artgallery-amsterdam.com

www.artgallery-amsterdam.nl

www.artgallery-amsterdam.eu

 

 

 

Always Art?

Always ART?

YES!! I would think ART always, always ART. As explained in my previous post ART is omnipotent. Art is everywhere just to make the sun shine and warm you. This is particularly needed in wintertime when we tend to move away from the dark and cold outside. Just by doing so we lose the connection to the things we need the most. Lack of oxygen, nature and thus art makes us grumpy and restless. We long for better days without realizing these days are just on our doorstep if only we would open the door and explore a whole new kind of world where, altough cold and rough and white, lost of experiences await us. On the really nice days the sun will shine without feeling the warmth on our skins.

The same is true for above painting. We see the sun, we see the brightness and the splendid colors but we fail to feel the sun tickling on our skin. The artist of this painting has truely captured the icecold sun of January. We see it and can only dream about the better times when we can acusally feel the sun burning. Now we are getting close to the real thing. Obviously art helps us interpret reality in a way that suits us. This is of course different for all of us. Above example is my interpretation while I can imagine someone else concluding the opposite and feeling the warmth of this sun while longing for wintery times with a weak sun shining on snow and ice.

Where is Art

Where is Art?

As most people I have been brought up to believe art is to be found in a museum. As I have, until recently, never been particularly interested in art, I have left it that way. Musea, and especially moder art musea, were in my mind places to avoid. Most of the art these places are filled with are propably made by a weird kind of people whose functions/skills are on the same level as my little six year old nephew. "Who is afraid of Red Yellow and Blue"? Well I am actually. I do not mind the colors, nor am I afraid of them. I do mind the fact that this product of Barnett Newman (version III), hanging on the expensive walls of Het Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, is called a masterpiece when all I can see is blue, yellow and an awfull lot of red. Strictly this is not true says my doctor. He claims I am color blind. Extremely so in the red sction. Anyway for some reason I do love some kind of art and others I plainly detest. As most people on this earth I tend to like bright colors so obviously all expressions of art using vivid colors have my preference. Take below example:



I simply love the bright colors. I love the composition and I really love the fac t one can dream away with this picture. I can be all kinds of things in your imagination. I do challenge you to come up with the figments of your imagination. Having said this we can return to everyday life. When travelling from your home to work and back, going out to dinner, having a holiday, sunbathing, ice skating, swimming or skying, practically every moment of your life is filled with colors and images. Sometimes these images can make you happy and somtimes they don't. And although just a very limited number of images is hanging on a wall or is preserved by man in a museum, that does not mean these images and colors are not art. To answer my own question: "Where is art?" I dare say that everywhere, in every moment, in every season and in every mans life there is art. For art is, like God, everywhere and all the time. Art is omnipotent.