5.20.2009

On Being an Artist

On Being an Artist

Art is here to give people the opportunity to dream.
Art is the dialogue of the imagination.
Art is a service to humanity for creating connections.
Art is purpose.

People refer to me as an artist to which I always say, “Thank you, art is subjective” then I nod politely and say “I appreciate the kind words”.

I think of myself as a craftsman laborer with tools. My tools of choices are a camera, guitar and a pen; no more or no less important than a shovel, screwdriver or a hammer. A tool’s purpose is to create or destroy. My Father is a blue-collar laborer. He is an electrician and he uses tools to create…and destroy a couple of items along the way.

I aspire to create.

Gary Snyder wrote “We are here to entertain the rest of nature”.

Martin Scorsese wrote - "The artist's job is to make people care about your obsessions and see them and experience them as their own".

That’s true to me. It has always boggled me as to why people ask God for intervention. Man is created in the image of God. It would hold true that God has no more control over his creation than man has over his created works. Man and God can create and destroy, nonetheless the creation is left up to its own self for its survival.

Never call yourself a prophet, philosophers or an artist. May those titles be placed upon you long after your death.

They are all titles given to you, not self-imposed labels. If deserved.