[As this day marks the beginning of another sequential posts (the other being iREVIEW in which I simply give my movie reviews assuming that you have already viewed it), I ponder on a miserable and perplexing point of initiality. Art is such a vast subject. It's boundaries cannot be fathomed, they can only be realized. It's rules cannot be followed, they can only be defied to create new ones. So I start with an appropriately titled episode "First Impression" which is a mere conglomeration of all the thoughts emanating from within me as I think about iART.]
What is an Artist? What makes for an Artist? What do you need to be one? Artist has two divisions of creativity within him (masculine gender is used for simplicity only!): the art, and the craft. If and only if these two factors are developed within a human, only then he can be considered as an artist. An artist without any art is simply a mimicry craftsmen. Obviously, mimicry craftsmen only exist in theory for a simple reason that a skilled craftsmen (in turn unskilled craftsmen don't exist either!) acquires that skill partially from "the art" section of his consciousness. A prospective craftsmen can learn all the nuances as an inheritance during his developing years which makes his craft so vuluptuously intricate, but he must add a new definition to what he already has on hand to carry down the legacy of his forefather's craftsmenship. This new definition is he himself, his stamp, his art. Without this art, he is merely a mimicry craftsmen. All he can do is mimic the craftsmenship he inherited and mass produce it. His production is an art but he is not an artist.
The exact opposite of mimicry craftsmen is an artist without a craft, who is not an artist to begin with. An artist is a source and a medium of art. The source is the art itself, the medium is the craft. Great Indian lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar said [paraphrase] "Life is a double lane road. One lane is worldly, which takes you away from yourself and closer to relationships, materialism and pleasures of tangible and emotional stimuli. This is the easiest route and hence is favored by the society. The other lane, the treacherous one, is full of aloneness, self understanding and one is afforded no solace of being attached to anyone or being of value to the world. This is the lane to yourself." The second lane is life itself and life is not a double lane road, it only seems as one. A person who can access the lane to himself can access the art. Art frees you from the world, makes you honest, gives you the courage to be yourself, encourages you to raise your voice, lets you appreciate your space in this world. Art is everything that YOU are. As perplexing this statement might sound, if one looks around and simply measures his life for a moment, he will know if he has the access to his art or not with as simplicity. Most of us, shockingly, simply walk down the easy lane. We have access to everything around us but have no understanding of ourselves. It's mind boggling that how we can say we love a person more than ourselves, when we don't even know if we love ourselves or not. An artist is not a narcissist, he simply exists with complete realization of himself and his presence. He thoroughly understands all the qualities that emanate from him and their effects on the world.
When you understand the aloneness, that art within you, the urge to appreciate the vastness around you is immeasurable. Why wouldn't it be? This is the first time you are an audience to the reality and not a mere participant. The reality is so colorful, not just beautiful, so full of different shades, the ups and the downs, the hills and the valleys, the fragrances. How can you not appreciate it? And if you decide that you will acquire a medium (a painting, writing, singing, etc.) to present your appreciation, you become an artist. An artist who keeps the art to himself isn't benefitting anyone in this world, including himself. His appreciation must be heard and applauded and realized for the world to have a meaning. An artist must access himself, and then have a medium to show everything he realized to everyone who didn't.
What is an Artist? What makes for an Artist? What do you need to be one? Artist has two divisions of creativity within him (masculine gender is used for simplicity only!): the art, and the craft. If and only if these two factors are developed within a human, only then he can be considered as an artist. An artist without any art is simply a mimicry craftsmen. Obviously, mimicry craftsmen only exist in theory for a simple reason that a skilled craftsmen (in turn unskilled craftsmen don't exist either!) acquires that skill partially from "the art" section of his consciousness. A prospective craftsmen can learn all the nuances as an inheritance during his developing years which makes his craft so vuluptuously intricate, but he must add a new definition to what he already has on hand to carry down the legacy of his forefather's craftsmenship. This new definition is he himself, his stamp, his art. Without this art, he is merely a mimicry craftsmen. All he can do is mimic the craftsmenship he inherited and mass produce it. His production is an art but he is not an artist.
The exact opposite of mimicry craftsmen is an artist without a craft, who is not an artist to begin with. An artist is a source and a medium of art. The source is the art itself, the medium is the craft. Great Indian lyricist and poet Javed Akhtar said [paraphrase] "Life is a double lane road. One lane is worldly, which takes you away from yourself and closer to relationships, materialism and pleasures of tangible and emotional stimuli. This is the easiest route and hence is favored by the society. The other lane, the treacherous one, is full of aloneness, self understanding and one is afforded no solace of being attached to anyone or being of value to the world. This is the lane to yourself." The second lane is life itself and life is not a double lane road, it only seems as one. A person who can access the lane to himself can access the art. Art frees you from the world, makes you honest, gives you the courage to be yourself, encourages you to raise your voice, lets you appreciate your space in this world. Art is everything that YOU are. As perplexing this statement might sound, if one looks around and simply measures his life for a moment, he will know if he has the access to his art or not with as simplicity. Most of us, shockingly, simply walk down the easy lane. We have access to everything around us but have no understanding of ourselves. It's mind boggling that how we can say we love a person more than ourselves, when we don't even know if we love ourselves or not. An artist is not a narcissist, he simply exists with complete realization of himself and his presence. He thoroughly understands all the qualities that emanate from him and their effects on the world.
When you understand the aloneness, that art within you, the urge to appreciate the vastness around you is immeasurable. Why wouldn't it be? This is the first time you are an audience to the reality and not a mere participant. The reality is so colorful, not just beautiful, so full of different shades, the ups and the downs, the hills and the valleys, the fragrances. How can you not appreciate it? And if you decide that you will acquire a medium (a painting, writing, singing, etc.) to present your appreciation, you become an artist. An artist who keeps the art to himself isn't benefitting anyone in this world, including himself. His appreciation must be heard and applauded and realized for the world to have a meaning. An artist must access himself, and then have a medium to show everything he realized to everyone who didn't.
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