Everything is art…
The art of composing words…
The art of arranging melodies that penetrate the soul…
The art of creating a vision…
The art of unifying a broken society…
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| Photograph: Personal Collection. Event: Afro-Futurism by Hebru Brantley at Zhou B Gallery. |
In some ways, we are all creators and we hold the innate gift to produce from soul. It is our will power to construct a voice with pure images from the unconscious state of truth, to touch the humans who have not yet received the gift of experiencing a prophecy without sight and to love our passions to which the imagination is the primary force of productivity.
Who are we?
Who am I?
Members of Generation
Why?
Whatever.
We are the group of people who cannot be placed in categories by birth-dates or social class, but rather the stories that are told through a comprehensive awareness from the nature of being an artist.
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| Collage of 35mm Film Photographs from various Chicago Art Events. Photograph: Personal Collection. |
The year is 2012 and the present state of humanity seems weary. I sometimes find myself wondering, “What drives an artist to create?” Especially during a time where everything is crumbling before their existence: the current perception of reality is no longer valid.
We need a Renaissance.
It is time for a Rebirth.
What makes a painter fall in love with their brush? Or how does that love (if it is called love) reach their audience? It is the concept of creating or the notion of capitalizing their work? Maybe these questions have no answers. Our culture has been reduced to a commercialized industry and our mass-vision has been condensed due to the commoditization of commerce. It seems as if this civilization has surrendered to the forces of an optical illusion where art has lost its natural significance. But what is a nation without art?
“Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable.”
(Nobel Peace Prize winner George Bernard Shaw. 1925).
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| Left: Personal Collection. Right: Models: Daniel Keener & Carl J. Harris Jr. Photographer: Kaori Nik. |
The nature to create is a conscious act that derives from the subconscious’ observation of the given world. Art is a way to convey a tale without spoken words; it is a historical dialogue through the philosophy of aesthetics. It is considered a way of documenting prevalent moments in our archives.
What are the key foundations that make art an essential value to humankind? Plato believed that art was a simple human skill that imitated the truth and beauty of reality. Therefore, he exiled all artists in his Republic or ideal state. Aristotle viewed art as a universal quest for knowledge by perceiving the artist through all realms of existence. We can look at the literature that has been generated throughout history and find that art has a widespread definition; but why bring together people of various demographics and surround them with art? Art invokes emotion; it is something that has a personal meaning to both the viewer and maker.
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| Photograph of J.M. Basquait By Lee Jaffe. |
Without art our past, present and future generations would not have an illustrative record of rooted eras that have molded today’s society. Art can be a universal quest for knowledge by perceiving the artist through all realms of existence, not just a mere imitation of reality. I want to know what makes an artist wake up everyday and create? Is it an obsession or a desire of formation? Is there a difference between the two?
An artist holds the gift to imitate and imagine the world however it comes to their premeditated self. I open my eyes and the beauty from the natural-world is immaculate. This is the era in which I will emerge myself completely in art by traveling throughout Chicago to look for the innovative visionaries of our time, the leaders of this generation and a movement that will forever be a referent in time.
Kiara-Jade
