Pursuing Art

I was reading through the spring issue of "T" magazine (the new New York Times Style Magazine), and came across an interesting article about Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. In the article, she states,

"I don't consider myself an artist. I am pursuing art in order to correct the disability which began in my childhood."

The rest of the article went on to talk about her mental illness (or lack thereof, according to some)...but it was the first part of her quote that stood out to me.

How often have I been in a museum and wondered how a certain piece of art was considered "worthy" of display...or wondered, "What IS art?"

Following the quote from Kusama, the author of the article asked, "Is great art the conscious effort of brilliant minds, or is it an outpouring of freakish individuality?"

YES! I love that question. So often it feels funny to introduce myself as an artist...like I have to do something to earn that title or something. Where is the blend between "really knowing what I'm doing," and simply expressing myself? Why are some people's expressions considered better than others? Sometimes I think it is judged by the amount of "brilliance" or education or technique behind their work, sometimes I think it can be judged by the importance of what they are expressing.

The longer I do design, the more I realize how subjective art is...how interesting to think about every "artist's" pursuit of art...is it simply something that we can relate to or identify with that makes it aesthetically appropriate or "good" to us?

Checkmate

There is a local ice cream shop that my husband and I like to go to. We have recently incorporated a game of chess into our routine of chocolate peanut butter and cookie dough, as several of the tables have chess boards and pieces. Neither of us are very good, which makes for a pretty good game, since it puts us at about the same level.

Earlier this week I was looking through my husband's pictures from his trip to California. Part of his trip included a visit to a friend who had a life-sized chess board. As I was looking at the pictures of the chess game, I thought they looked a little more artsy than the pictures he tends to take. When I asked him about it, he at first claimed that our friend Adam must have took them, but when he saw them, he said, "Oh, that's just showing checkmate." I was even more thrilled to think that he is subconsciously expressing his artsy side.

All that to say, chess is becoming one of my favorite games...

La Vie En Rose

Living in Chicago this time of year isn't exactly the most uplifting thing I can imagine. Today has been absolutely disgusting. Rain, snow, sleet - you name it, we had it. Just a big mess of grey dampness.

However, I looked out of the window and saw this amazing sunset. The picture hardly does the colors justice. Amazing how the most brilliant shades of purple, pink and orange could close a day absent of almost any color...