Art is not a thing: It is a way.
Elbert Hubbard
As I came across this quote today it made me stop and think, well is it really? if so, how?
It seems to me that the notion does hold true as I discover the many ways in which art guides my life, what I do, where I go and so on. I know that when we travel, our visits are based around visiting art related things. We do art-tourism. We don't do food-tourism or theatre-tourism, or garden-tourism or hot-rod tourism; we plan out trips around arty things and they are usually first on the list for visiting when we get there.
If we are going somewhere without art-tourism; then we pack art things to do, art books to look at, and take photographs that rarely feature a person or a building but rather an interesting element...
I guess art influences how we think about our garden and our furnishings - adding little touches here and there, making sure that things appear balanced or surprise you.
It also seems I spend a lot of time looking at arty things, reading arty things, making arty things, doodling arty things or day dreaming arty things. Its not just a thing, it is a way for me. It shapes a lot of my day - how I spend my time and where I choose to go and what I do.
Of course, a lot of my day is also guided by life and its necessities; but for me, art is always there as a thing to turn to when there is free time.
It's not the only way for me - family, friends, gardening, baking, reading, community, sipping coffee or wine are all wonderful elements of my life, but art somehow underpins them…
Art-making on a deserted beach in New Zealand last year.
Elbert Hubbard
As I came across this quote today it made me stop and think, well is it really? if so, how?
It seems to me that the notion does hold true as I discover the many ways in which art guides my life, what I do, where I go and so on. I know that when we travel, our visits are based around visiting art related things. We do art-tourism. We don't do food-tourism or theatre-tourism, or garden-tourism or hot-rod tourism; we plan out trips around arty things and they are usually first on the list for visiting when we get there.
If we are going somewhere without art-tourism; then we pack art things to do, art books to look at, and take photographs that rarely feature a person or a building but rather an interesting element...
I guess art influences how we think about our garden and our furnishings - adding little touches here and there, making sure that things appear balanced or surprise you.
It also seems I spend a lot of time looking at arty things, reading arty things, making arty things, doodling arty things or day dreaming arty things. Its not just a thing, it is a way for me. It shapes a lot of my day - how I spend my time and where I choose to go and what I do.
Of course, a lot of my day is also guided by life and its necessities; but for me, art is always there as a thing to turn to when there is free time.
It's not the only way for me - family, friends, gardening, baking, reading, community, sipping coffee or wine are all wonderful elements of my life, but art somehow underpins them…
Art-making on a deserted beach in New Zealand last year.
So true. For me, I think art has always underpinned the way I thought and the way I looked at the world - even when I couldn't find much time to give to it directly because of family, my job or the more mundane necessities of life.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right Charlton - it feels like an underpinning and an approach one brings to most things in one's life, and its there even when we can't give much time to it…go well.
Deleteis art a 'way'? absolutely! in fact when the 'thingness' of art disappears (along with the commodification of product and experience) the real value of art is revealed....
ReplyDeletelets make art the way to a better, fairer, kinder world
I think art as a way helps bring beauty and understanding to the world Ronnie for sure. It is indeed a way; but I also needed to think bout how all the other things I commit to and do in my life have a place as well - but I think art as a way underpins many of them...
DeleteI second Ronnie's and Charlton's sentiments. Art is a way of life.
ReplyDeleteAnd almost enjoyable one don't you think J? It helps give life more meaning and purpose in many ways, helps shape and guide the choices we make…and brings much joy.
DeleteThat quote hit me immediately as true. In addition to the things you list... I'd add that one of THE most important things the artway does is to invite me to look with eyes that truly SEE - beyond form, shape, color, and texture I see possibility everywhere in materials and objects. I find as I age, my life deepens as my eye sharpens with years of practice. There is a richness that the artway brings to a life that nurtures one's vitality - maybe its that a life full of inspiration is good medicine. I've recently witnessed a few older friends as they transition into retirement - they seem sort of lost and bored. I can imagine retiring from my long-commute teaching job, but I can't ever imagine not teaching or making art as the Way of Art is a way of life. I'm going to need to share this quote widely, thanks!
ReplyDeleteThanks for adding that in Valerianna - it is so true. Art helps me see so many things. Like beauty in the old and worn and discarded, the light and the shadows…I often feel as if I need a dozen lifetimes to explore all the arty things I want to explore…A life of art certainly never leaves me bored!
DeleteThat's for sure!!
DeleteWhat a perfectly thought through response to this quote Fiona. I agree with you in all respects.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lesley - I can't say that I only exist thru my art, and that my every life decision is made thru the lens of art; but it's a huge part of how I design my life on a daily basis. And I feel so happy to have a life like that.
Deletei think that being a maker molds who you are, guides how you move through the day, how you filter what the world presents, the decisions you make, how you interpret things.
ReplyDeleterather like peace - peace is a way of being, not a destination.
you always present interesting and thought provoking ideas - and they are so appreciated.
Thanks MJ - that feels just right. It is there and shapes how you respond, prioritise, see and do. And as you say, like having peace as a guiding notion influences how you do your daily things - its not the only thing in your life, but it colours in how you live your life. Thanks!
DeleteI subscribe to the notion that our lives are our artforms, ultimately. How we create everything we do, the spaces we live in, what we choose to have around us, where we focus our attention. I was once given a card, and still have it, that says, "The most visible creators I know of are those artists whose medium is life itself. The ones who express the inexpressible -- without brush, hammer, clay or guitar. They neigher paint nor sculpt -- their medium is being. Whatever their presence touches has increased life. They see and don't have to draw. They are the artists of being alive."
ReplyDeleteIn many ways we are creating our own life of art every day aren't we? Our choices and decisions and what we do and how we do it can all be considered part of the art of creating our lives…Interesting dimensions in that thought Connie Rose - thanks!
Deleteyes art is a way
ReplyDeleteand its part of my life everyday
londonbookworks.blogspot.co.uk
It is pretty special to be able to say that isn't it Jaquinta - that art is a part of my life everyday. A thought to be treasured for sure...
DeleteArt as a way is indeed a filter through which "life", the profane and dutiful, the tedious and the necessary, become framed within the context of beauty and infinite possibility. Creative energy is always the saving grace.
ReplyDeleteHi Marie - I really like how you put that, it gives a shape to my thoughts and ideas as well. A filter, a frame…art is all of that in my life, for which I am grateful. Go well.
DeleteI'd love it to be so for me, but it just isn't. While my mind is usually pondering something art-related, my life is divided between art and relationships. My husband is 'not into it' (briefly) tho' relatively supportive....and many friends are not on the same wave-length. I guess that is because art was not part of my life until after I was married. I am constantly torn between two worlds, but my 'art'world is always there as a refuge.
ReplyDeleteIt's also the way we see. I see everything through art tinted spectacles. Taking a walk with someone who isn't art oriented makes me realize just how differently artists see things.
ReplyDelete