There is no title to this one

 I get frustrated with fashion, or more precisely, people who talk about fashion.  

Why does it always feel like they live in a different world from the one I am in?

Mmmm......coffee brings people together and keeps them from fighting, - in the mornings at least.

Possibly, is it because most of the people who write about fashion sell clothes?   They actually live in another world?  

Myself, I want to sell art, so I write about it.  Despite that nagging little doubt that tells me I don't know what I am talking about and even if I did, no one cares.

That is probably the root of my reaction to fashionistas' preaching.   Projecting ones own insecurities onto others is a very common trait in people everywhere.   

I doubt anything is that simple.

I do wonder why what I wear matters.

Clothes do not change who I am.  My strengths and weaknesses don't change.

Of course, every clothing blog that I have read is based on the premise that clothing affects how other people see you.   What other people think matters.

That is a direct conflict with what my parents told me when I was a kid.  "Other people's opinions of you don't matter."   [I was not a popular child and had few friends. My parents did not think their son was outgoing enough; but, it's not like reaching out to people guarantees acceptance.}

These conflicts in life lessons need to be resolved.  It's called growing up.  

My conclusion, if you are interested.

How you present yourself matters in that it affects how people react to you.  That is all.  There is no great revelation, no magic, and clothes do not change your being.  Whoever said that you have to know yourself first, they were right.  There is nothing else worth guiding what clothes to wear.

  

What is An Artist?

A hobbyist will  engage in more creative activity in an individual than any of the creative professions.   That is because most of the "creative" professions are about volume sales, and the people actually doing the creative part will not share the burden.   Or, as in the case of architecture, so complicated that the creative aspect  only involves 2% of the tasks.  Lets face it, modern jobs are dull and repetitive, based on a Factory model.  (And, slaves to statistical analysts because people like to "stack the deck" and guarantee sales.  Like that's even possible.)

Traditional means of support, patronage, family money, government grants, etc. all seem to require the Artist to participate in the visions of others.  If the Artist is independent of these connections, the vision belongs to the Artist alone; and, the Artist is probably dead.  

It is possible for the Artist to have a day job, or someway of providing, separate from creating art.  Get one that doesn't have managers who demand unlimited access to your time.   Trust me, there are people, managers, clients and coworkers who are never not working and expect 24 four access to you.   

Also, some jobs are more physically demanding than others.  The Artist has to take that into account, but that is more of what an individual can handle than some broad principle.    

Supporting oneself with a day job is an old idea.  I ran across it in, of all things, the Bible.  The Apostle Paul, who was the first evangelist, supported himself as a tent maker instead of taking money from those he preached to.  

This concept is so far from the tv evangelists of today who constantly beg for money and fight for audiences.  Even in religion, the job can destroy the vision of the preacher.  

The Artist cannot ignore life.  Food, shelter, and clothing are not provided by simply having faith.  There is some effort involved.     

The words that stand out in this post are Artist (as opposed to artist), support, and vision.   There is an unsaid word, which is definitely implied, and that word is Time.

Support

That which prevents death and allows the Artist to keep exploring.

Vision 

Something that people say when they are describing the body of work of an artist.  The meaning varies from person to person.  It's also what I am looking for when I explore.

Time

The most important coin in the universe.  This musing is about how the Artist spends Time. 

Connections 

An unavoidable condition of Human Existence.   They can be cultivated or limited.  Some crave connections and others, they are more selective.  Again, connections are based on individual traits. 

Artist

The one who creates art is called an Artist by other people.  How I see it, essentially an explorer of perception.  

Study Artists like Andy Warhol and it becomes clear that what you do is not as important as how you present it.

Maybe this says it more clearly:

Painters sells paintings.

Artists sell themselves.  

 

  

What Is Beauty These Days

Flowers Floating on A Reflection

What is Beauty?   It's a word.  It was important in the 19th century.   

Today, it's worn out from overuse.  A girl once said to me that inner beauty is more important than outer beauty; and, in the same breath said that beauty is only skin deep.   I was a boy at the time, but the phrases stuck with me.

There is real conflict in those phrases.  

She was talking about a friend who was less than attractive in her eyes.  I had to take her word for it.  

What a crappy way to see a friend.  Maybe, she really wasn't seeing her friend.  People tend to not see people they are familiar with.

Why did she use the phrase inner beauty?  There is no inner beauty. Even if it exists, there is no way to perceive such a thing without a physical expression.   

There are two things I believe about beauty.

        1.    Beauty is a surface effect.

        2.    It has a biological/perceptual basis.

The only time I think the concept of beauty has any real use is when I evaluate paintings or drawings that I intend to place for sale.  That would be when I am trying my hand at marketing.    

So, back to the girl with the crappy friend.  

I never actually met her friend.  She wasn't trying to match her up with me.  I don't have a clue as to what was going on.  It was important enough for her to say it out loud.   

Beauty does not lie at the core of anything, not human, not objects.  It is surface, like color.  A reflection of something.  It belongs in the world of art, design, and marketing.   It's about how we perceive objects.  

Random Musing On Art : Alfred Nobody

oil painting on 18 by 24 inch canvas
Style is not important in this case.
It is not titled nor for sale at this time.

Paintings might search for universal appeal, which is a type of artistic snipe hunt.

A snipe hunt, if you are not into camping, was a rite of passage for young boys of my generation.  It usually happens at night.  The boys are organized into groups.  Each boy is given two sticks and are instructed to bang them together in order to attract snipes.  The hunt usually lasts an hour, or more if the boys are unusually dense.  

Snipes don't exist in my part of the world, and until recently I didn't think they existed at all.  I am not sure what the point of snipe hunts were.   Perhaps, a mild hazing, and everyone felt a part of the group.

Universal appeal is thought unattainable, although people keep trying.  Not just artists, but sales and marketing chase that snipe.

If you truly believe that art is subjective, then universal appeal cannot be possible.  There are too many people in the world.

Is art really subjective?   

Dried Onion
Digital Photograph

How do we even contemplate anything if everyone sees something different?  No the image of the dried onion above is the same for everyone.  What reaction people have will be different, but it remains an image of a dried onion.

A search for universal appeal is not a snipe hunt.  What I am not sure of is what use it would be.  If everyone likes an image, it will be reproduced endlessly and fade into a rather pleasant background.  

If the internet has shown us anything useful, its that not being in the background gets you noticed.  Also, sex sells - but, then we have always know that.

Today's artists are looking for reactions.   

but

I think these are the big questions.

What are people who consume art looking for?  

Do we follow the money to find that out?  

Or, do we see what is searched for on the internet?

What about people who don't use the internet to look for art?  After all, being there is still a unique experience.  Also, just because the internet is not available to someone does not automatically exclude them from the art world.