12-09-19
Art? What are you talking about? We don’t need art?
Many things are called Art such as the art of living, playing, gambling or even sleeping; but not every word really means Art.
Woody Allen once said, “Life does not imitate art. It imitates bad television.” I think people use the word ‘Art’ merely to cover up bad television. True art helps us enrich our soul and captures the spiritual moments that will be with us forever, impossible to reproduce.
Every day, you hear a little good song, read a meaningful passage and see an inspiring picture. It is art. Art is the process of seeing or feeling yourself in the beautiful things that should be spiritually with you but may be no longer around.
Art should be everywhere in life. For the sake of convenience, people however pull and put them together in places such as galleries, museums and theatres. Art should be created internally by us through the wise reflection in our daily life. This is the cheapest and noblest. When you gaze at a wild flower in the street and come up with a dainty poem of your own, it is already a self-discovery and expression of art. Art can be simple to sophisticated. It does not matter. We have ‘children art’ that may not mean a high artistic standard and yet it is capable of being an art.
For some, art has to be a kind of guided experience. This is easier than the self-discovery journey. People love painless and effortless ways. This is why there are now many customized ‘art’ activities and places in recent times: art hotels, art restaurants, art nail bars, art sports and art spa….There are even art hospitals. They are all fast tracks to art appreciation. The ‘faster track’ is of course online search for art information. The ‘not-so-fast’ track is Art Tour by which one will be taken to a destination for museum, gallery and workshop visits. My friend organized such an art tour to Florence and the reaction is enthusiastic.
While many activities and places are termed ‘art’, you may be vulnerable to conceptual misrepresentation or money exploitation. Any place which is called ‘art’ usually asks for a higher price and this can be just a marketing gimmick. Through others, you may not become others and you may still remain one of your kind who knows nothing about art. All these ‘art xyz’ can be an illusion and you will thereby deceive yourself.
What can become an art journey of your own is your sincere and serious discovery and understanding of the historical perspectives, aesthetic principles and creative rationales of the subject matter in question. Art can never be an imitation of others’ behaviour.
If we have to choose between the devil and the deep blue sea, the guy who frequents an art restaurant should be rated better than another guy who treats KFC like home for various reasons and his art motive is certainly a point.
If you have not gone for the past 6 months to any art place, whether real or mimic, the red flag of your spiritual life is flying!
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