I love the sound of rain on asphalt. I suppose many creative minds do. It is calming and natural. Chaotic and orderly at the same time.
I have three admissions to make before anyone who cares to read any of this (including myself) reads it. The first is that I am a horrible speller and my grammar is probably below par. Forgive my trespasses. The second is that this blog will most likely not be updated on a regular basis. Although, at the moment I am excited, so I may surprise even myself. Finally, I have avoided this for a long time. Why?
That’s a good question to start with. The answer is fairly simple: Fear. I’ve been thinking sort of like medieval China - ”You have thoughts, build a wall, keep them secure, safe, unstolen.” Needless to say, that way of pondering is not getting me anywhere. This seems to be an age of sharing, of electronic unity, and I can only hope that when the fossil fuels finally fire up, and the planet cooks us, we’ll make a fine omelet and not a crispy bunch of fried eggs. What a terrible metaphor. It’ll get better, I promise.
Who am I speaking too? Well, anyone who listens. I should also warn you that this blog is most likely going to turn into an outlet for disastrous theory on art as I painfully attempt to grow in my understanding of “it”. Still, I’m hoping to start a dialogue and eventually unite all the artistic minds of the world into one resounding voice for gigantic worldwide social change. A lofty goal, I suppose, but I’m told it’s important to have one. Or maybe I just want to become famous, pay my student debt off in one single blow, and pretend like future generations will care about my contributions to humankind. I haven’t really decided yet.
At this point, if you’re still reading, I hope you have some idea what you’re in for. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea, oh well, nothing ventured nothing gained. Somebody wrote that once and it’s well known. Would they have blogged? Would you? It’s the modern existential question!
Well, I think we’ve covered pretension well enough, let’s move on to unity. Art is by nature pretentious. So we should not ridicule our artists for seeming so. Creation demands courage because it produces judgement. If you can’t come to terms with that than you probably should not be an artist. None of us take criticism well, unless it’s framed in a positive manner, but it’s a fact of life. What good is the great American novel if you keep it tucked under your bed for ten thousand years for only a race of advanced ape-like humanoids to find and decipher in some kind of sci-fi future? Art is pretentious. You are creating something that is a statement about yourself or the world around you. If you can tell me the difference I’ll give you a cookie. Cookies aside, you have to put it out there in order for it to have an impact. Whether that impact be sheer entertainment or universal human truth is your choice. Sometimes we’re lucky enough to get both.
So if Art is pretentious, how is unity possible? That’s a cliff hanger. Please share if you know the answer, especially if you know the answer, because then I can steal it and try to make money. If you don’t have one I’ll do my best next time.
