Art isn't so bad after all...

In the beginning of the semester one of our first assignments was to draw a picture of ourselves.  I remember sitting in class and as soon as I heard the words “draw” I immediately slouched back in my seat thinking to myself oh great this really IS an art class…I'm going to have to draw and paint and all I'm capable of is a stick figure!  Thankfully to my surprise I didn’t have to draw again in this class throughout the semester.

One of the first questions you asked us was “What is art?”  What determines one thing as art and something else not as art?  I was so confused by this.  When I thought of art I thought gee I don’t know how about a painting by Picasso who was one of the only artists I knew by name at the beginning of this semester.  Although I don’t think that I will be able to draw a much better portrait of myself since the first class I do think that I have a better understanding of what art is.

Art can be so many things and I don’t think there are boundaries with art.  It’s a form of self-expression; it’s beautiful and different and can be fashion, tattoos, paintings, sculptures, graffiti and so on.  A narrow-minded person would say that only an extravagant self-portrait is art.  But contemporary artists of today have proved otherwise.  I think that many people will say something is not because they do not understand the concept of it. But just because you do not understand something, does not mean that its not art!  The whole point of art is to try and open your eyes and mind to someone else’s personal masterpiece.  To you it may not be the greatest thing you have ever laid your eyes on, but that’s the whole point.  If you start to open your eyes a little more maybe you will begin to see more to whatever “art” it is that your looking at!

My two favorite artists that you introduced us to were Jenny Holzer and Barbara Krueger.  I was so fascinated with their work.  I just thought it was so creative and different and I had never seen something like that before.  Many of the other kids in our class did not feel the same.  They felt that it was not a lot of work and nothing special.  BUT before Barbara Krueger or Jenny Holzer nobody else in the world had made art like that.  Even if you don’t particularly like something, it doesn’t mean its not art!  I think a major reason that it is art, is because before they did it nobody else came up with that idea.  Its different and uncommon and not something that you see every day.  I still think that their work is amazing.

Although art is not my favorite subject because I do not feel that I am so artistic I have learned that everyone has the potential to be.  The day in class when we all had the opportunity to create something different I actually got really into it.  I don’t know why but something came over me and I just got in the zone and went with it.  It was very relaxing for me. I wasn’t thinking about finals, or what my weekend plans were.  For the first time in my life I actually felt like an artist.  Maybe that’s what all of these famous artists feel every time they create something new.  So before I took this class I would roll my eyes at the thought of drawing or painting or even talking about art.  But now I feel differently.  I know I will never be the next Picasso but I know that I am capable of creating something that’s not all that bad.  I even hung it up on my fridge!  :) Art isn’t so bad after all.  It’s actually pretty cool!