The Meaning of Art

As someone who has now spent almost every waking moment of his day over the last two years trying to claim his place in the world of art, I often find myself wondering what the hell art even is. I mean shouldn't someone who is quite literally creating an art studio from scratch know how to define art and why we need it in the world? Is my progress as a business owner only a reflection of my gradual decline as an artist? Am I being a complete sell out by dropping my dreams as animator in the pursuit of starting my own animation studio? It's questions like these that have me wonder what art is to begin with. In a superficial sense "what is art" has a rather obvious answer but the more I think about it the more I have a hard time formulating a sound answer, bringing me to writing this article. My latest search for the meaning of art and its importance reminds me of when I was a child, destroying my mother's yard with constant digging in vain to find some cool artifact or fossil. Spoiler alert, the more I dug the more dirt I found. Bummer. Unlike with my time wasted? in the dirt, I now have the internet to do some of the heavy lifting. So let's try to get to the bottom of this dusty hole and see if we can dig up something worth finding.

A quick search on Google will inform you that art is "(Remote Server Administration Tools) is a Windows Server component for remote management of other computers also running that operating system.." Oh whoops! That's RAT. Typo. Sorry. Lets try that again. Art is "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power". Or as another definition reads "the various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance." Now it's the the preciseness of these definitions that I find issue with, specifically with the use of the word creativity. For me "creativity" is one of those words that is used quite stringently, which in my opinion only hinders the creative progress that is desperately needed in this world. Google's definition promptly promulgates society's understanding of what art is, a piece of work that is to be enjoyed for the sake of entertainment. In doing so, the search engine's definition tethers the word creativity to the same shallow understanding of art. In reality what creativity is and its relationship with art goes well deeper than what is eluded to in Google's definition.

Creativity is intelligence having fun. -Albert Einstein

Without going too into what creativity is, it could be understood as the ability to see a subject on a macro scale rather than a micro scale. Creativity not only requires one to see the whole of a subject but to be able to put their knowledge to use by making connections between a subject's variables that might not have been seen if not for the eye of the beholder, therefore bringing a whole new vision to life. This application of creativity is not restricted to the industries of Fine Art and Entertainment but is instead a transcendental requirement for all industries and planes of human experience, making it paramount to the meaning of art. Examples of creativity permeating through the spectrum of our economy could be seen just about in every industry, even in places that seem to lack any form of the traditional sense of art. Take the companies Tesla and SpaceX. Both companies are a part of industries that, prior to their individual founding, remained stagnant for years. Through sheer creativity and will, Elon Musk was able to jump start not just his companies but their respective industries on a whole. It was the junction of knowledge, vision that effectuated the success and survival of his companies. Bringing me to my final point, what is art and why does it matter?

Art is the utilization of a particular skill set, creativity, knowledge, and love for the game in order to execute a plan. It's about telling a story and using your craft to bring a vision to fruition. In order to fulfill this vision it is necessary to cultivate the skills that would be required to see your plan through, a plan that could be only developed through extensive knowledge. This crossroad between knowledge and skills is where creativity is birthed. Although, all of this means nothing if you don't have a genuine love for whatever it is that you're doing. There will be many times that you fail, there will be many times that you simply want to quit. Yet it's those failures that keep you learning because you have that damn love for the game, and it's that love that forces you to keep on going. It's all about trial and error. Like a chef seeking the secret to the makings of a perfect sauce, there will be times he over seasons and times he under seasons. Each of these problems come with their own solutions that are only found through the lessons of self inflicted failure. It's through those failures that he is able to figure out how to parry his future mistakes, fortifying his inevitable success. Art is knowing when to put in the effort and when to pull out. It's knowing how to toil with the minutiae of your craft in order to see your vision succeed. Overall art is the ability and the means to produce a desired outcome, whatever that may be.

Every human being is an artist, a free being, called to participate in transforming and reshaping the conditions, thinking, and structure that shape and inform our lives. -Joseph Beuys

It's this need to tell one's own story and to see that vision through that makes art so wildly important to today's world. In a society where innovation and enthusiasm for one's own work and life seem to be flat lining, it's become absolutely necessary that individuals break the mold installed by the powers that be. The stagnation and overall unhappiness in today's society could be attributed to countless variables but the solution remains the same. People as a whole need to start seeing themselves as artists, not in the traditional sense like so many think but in a more practical and creative way. Every individual has a vision for how their life or the world on a whole should be and it's their duty to cultivate the necessary skills required to become the artist they need to be in order to manifest that vision. As an artist you want to be able to use your honed skill set and experienced knowledge to craft the best course of action in seeing your plan through, all while doing so with your own particular brand. The life we live and the legacies we leave behind depend on what type of art we produce, for art imposes the artist’s vision on the masses . Perhaps you choose to live to tackle climate change, our political turmoil, or to upheave the education system. Then again, maybe all you want is financial freedom and your own business, in which case, how you go about bringing that business to life in your style is your art. Whatever it may be, make sure to always love the game and tackle the problem at hand with the utmost care and precision, like a good little artist should.