TimeOut

Art is all around us, it's everywhere you go

 

Last Christmas I asked Santa for a digital point-n-shoot camera.  I owned a traditional (read: uses film) SLR, but gifted the camera to my sister ages ago.  Originally, my main motivation for getting a camera was to take photos of my watches, but I have since rediscovered the art of SEEING -- not just looking, but seeing and noticing the interesting shapes, and beauty in the everyday.  Often, as I go about my activities I'll take my little camera along just on the off chance I encounter something interesting.  I particularly like the idea of found art.

Can a simple iron fence surrounding a suburban home be art?

Can a light fixture illuminating the otherwise claustrophobic darkness of a nightclub be art?

Can water mimicking fire be art?

Can skin be art?

The truth is: I don't know. 

One of the definitions of the word art in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is: the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also: works so produced.  I think what constitutes art is a complex, highly subjective matter that varies widely from person to person based on so many factors including cultural background and generational influences.  One person's art is another person's paint splotch.  A Robert Mapplethorpe nude is art to some, and obscene to others.  It's all in the eye of the beholder.

Have you seen anything recently in your everyday travels that caught your eye?  While you ride the subway to work in the morning do you notice the craggy face of a fellow passenger -- life experiences etched in every line of his face?  When you're in your car crawling through another brutal crosstown commute do you notice how the sun glints off the glass of your urban landscape, spraying prismatic rays of light like so many diamonds in the sky?  When you're out with the dog for that post-supper walk, do you notice how the late summer sun creates fanciful patterns in the shadows thrown by your neighbor's oak tree? 

I do believe art IS all around us.  Everyday.  Everywhere.  It's just a matter of taking a moment to yourself to aesthetically experience the world around you.  I'm not always successful at this tactic myself, but I find that on days when I am, the world seems a richer, fuller, more intriguing and beautiful place.

Cheers,

Daos This message has been edited by DRMW on 2009-07-24 09:57:08 This message has been edited by DRMW on 2009-07-26 16:38:09