I attended The Other Art Fair in Sydney a couple of weeks ago, and I gots to say- I was inspired.
Actually, the first walk around I was intimidated and felt like crap in comparison to all the amazing artists who were exhibiting. Then I sat down, had a coffee and a breather and did a second lap. This was where I felt inspired. There were so many artists with a huge variety of skills and styles, it made me appreciate that ‘art’ is not one thing that is good or not good, it is many things. Sure, in the context of making and selling art, it’s value lies in the internal judgement people make based on their experience, preference and social constructs. But as I reflect, I believe the purpose of art is a whole other thing.
There was one exhibit where people could write their fears on a wall (I didn’t take note of the artist on the day, but how I wish I had! Cleary their work has stuck with me). A few of those notes were things like ‘I am scared I won’t make a difference’ and ‘I am scared that my life will not have worth’. I don’t need to elaborate, I have no doubt that many people fear this. I could be wrong, but it has real ‘capitalism’ undertones. I personally have vivid memories of tackling this exact fear in therapy, in meditation, on retreats, in deep conversations with people and during 3am insomnia bouts. At the end of the day life is just hard and ‘purpose’ is what helps us keep on keeping on.
“He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
I paint, I make art. I make art and want to make an income from it so I can support myself and make art I want to make. In the mean time, I need to earn a living in a way that means I have time to make art. And when I make art, it has to be a good use of my time because I don’t have time. So the art I make has to be content art, that will lead to me making a living from it… but I don’t like content art. I like painting and going in with trial and error to learn skills to make my art prettier to me. As I type, I see that is a purpose for me- to build my skills and maybe one day create something that I can’t even believe I made.
How am I ever meant to do that if all of my actual art time isn’t for my big purpose, but instead for a short term purpose of making content and marketing myself? I would much rather make art without any purpose than for the purpose of something that feels so empty to me.
So I am working to take away the purpose of art that I have been conditioned to constantly strive for- the purpose of making money and seeking labels. I want to float around and focus on some lofty purpose that has no material benefits. To nourish myself in a way that actually brings joy to this thing I call life.
My resolution, it seems, is to make and create art with no tangible purpose at all, which I think is the greatest purpose of all.