Tag: exploration

 

What is it really? This thing we call art. I have had so many opinions on it over the years. My disagreement with some concepts and executions. Truly though, as I begin with an open mind. What is art?

I think art is more than the forms we see or performances we experience. I heard recently that art is often the artist themselves. That struck me. One of my focuses as a theatre artist has always been on the process, the artists themselves, the creation of the work and what happens within that as much as the final experience.

Many don’t have the inside seat on the relationships and personalities at play behind the scenes. So much of what makes art good or bad (in each and all’s opinion) is founded in the process; the sharing and shaping of the the work. The vision is a piece but not all.

Since I have been revisiting my visual art and writing, I see it again. So much is in the process. In the heart of what is being created and why. The outcome may not appeal to everyone but there is life in it, at least for those who take it seriously. I have seen this over the years repeatedly. What is the difference from one thing to the next. Why do I love this dance piece or that. Its all perspective.

Some people truly see only the technique and appreciate it above all else. Some see through that and find the personality, the essence of the work. For myself I most certainly prefer the latter. I have seen my fair share of perfectly executed art; dance, theatre, photography, literature, etc. I certainly appreciate every aspect of it. The talent and skill required is astonishing. However I have found myself often bored with perfection( so why is it that I often strive for it?).

What pulls me in and excites me is the collaboration. To me fantastic art includes its audience. It leaves an open door for them to walk through, to explore and to leave filled up with inspiration, emotions, ideas, whatever. Its not my place to judge that. Even as the artist, I have an intention but it is my intention alone. If an observer leaves with something different, perhaps somehow the work took a step beyond the itself. If they find something personal and unique, how spectacular is that! There is nothing better than art that grows beyond its own boundaries.

So as I sit here contemplating about what is next for me. I am letting go of what it is I “think” I should do. I am entering my creative experience as an observer of self willing to to find something different. I am releasing shoulds and musts. Embracing the simplicity of color and space, of heart and mind, of light and touch. I am confronting the simple DO to see what happens.

This is a whole new experience for me outside the theatre. It’s time to take those skills I gained and spread the wealth, to find the the connective thread that moves me. Its time to allow myself to be the art, expressive and free. As we all should.

Namastè
Nichole