Lessons in Art are Lessons in Life

Lessons in Art exercise many of life’s most vital needs. To even think about education without the arts, lacks vision and sensitivity.

It is about making decisions concerning challenges that have never been defined, forcing the individual to react intuitively, making choices according to the previous actions. It is about exploring the inner self, and finding inspiration and emotion from a wide range of issues, and teaching the individual how to internalize their feelings, developing an understanding and forming a solution. It is about being unique. The very nature of creating is about being different and finding new ways to express oneself, in turn, becoming sensitive to the uniqueness of others. It is about taking that uniqueness and melding it within the community, learning how to work together as well as apart. It is about risk, opening up your heart and soul and expressing it in visual media for anyone to view, developing a comfort zone for being out on the edge, and dealing with possible rejection, controversy or even applause. It is about studying history through the eyes of some of the most flamboyant characters to walk this earth. Before photography, artists recorded history through their paintings and drawings, yet after the camera, artists glorified history by reacting to the social context of it. It is about learning to see through the uncommon mind. While the common mind is one that can only see what it can touch, the uncommon mind is about vision, and creating things that have never been seen before. It teaches the intellect of perceptiveness, inventiveness and cleverness, all very powerful traits to have throughout ones life.

Art is a wonderful vehicle for preparing our youth for life. We give them tools and teach them skills for attacking future challenges. As they move down the road of being, their lessons in art will become the road map for strategy in creating their existence.

Without participating in the process of creating, ones perception of the significance of art can be very limited. I call it the, “It Takes One To Know One Theory.” For most people to understand, they must experience first hand how the act of creating directs the being to every edge of life. Art teachers, artists and advocates throughout the land are often frustrated when money¹s and programs in the arts are cut. They have explored a myriad of avenues to educate those who do not support the arts in education, yet explanations alone do not suffice. It is very difficult to see the view unless your on top of the hill. In order to make it on top of that hill most of us must participate in the process of creating. Only then will ones perception be clear and true. It requires a different strategy of justification. In Mathematics 2 +2 will always equal 4. In Art 2 + 2 can equal 12 on one day and 2002 on another. In creating, the answer is irrelevant. The process is what counts.

“Art Is Life and Life is a Process.”

Art Sherwyn

Fine Art And Technology – A Marriage Made In Heaven

Ten years ago I was beginning to experience deep feelings of gloom over the state of visual art and its future in our technological society. The making of fine art was becoming another victim of the age of technology. As an artist and educator, my spirit and passion for my profession was waning. I was on the verge of becoming a victim of progress, a dinosaur. But this wasn¹t only about me, this was about one of histories most powerful and dynamic disciplines; Art.

Technology is about looking ahead, continually searching for faster and more efficient ways to perform tasks. Art is about balancing the past with the future, exploring processes that are built on the foundations of the past and melding them with the invented processes of the present.

Paradoxically, great numbers of people were creating art on the computer. Who wouldn¹t be intrigued by all the special effects that the computer could provide a user. You could now click your way to some very interesting art and you didn¹t even have to draw or mix color, etc.

As a teacher I was envisioning all the schools filling their art rooms with computers, replacing the pencil and brush with the mouse and stylus. As the computers move in, the classics move out. Fewer and fewer charcoal and conte¹ studies, fewer and fewer brush strokes, fewer and fewer wood cuts. If no one is studying the classical techniques and theories, I question who will teach the next generation.

Progress is nothing new. Life has always been motivated by progress. The difference lies in its speed. The pace of the 90s has been so quick that we have very little time to sit back and figure things out. We purchase a piece of technology and by the time we get it home and set it up, it¹s obsolete. The opposite is often true for fine art. We are still using tools that were invented hundreds of years ago. We never stop returning to our books on Leonardo, Michaelangelo and Rembrandt. I probably could have joined the band wagon and devoted myself to creating art with a computer, but it is not that easy, especially for someone who has spent the last twenty-five years making art with antiquated tools like brushes, pastels and ink. After all these years of learning about art, its theories and its processes, how could I possibly be motivated to create computer generated art using someone else¹s options.

Well, I was wrong, way wrong! My doom and gloom was for naught. I underestimated the monster of art and forgot that it has overcome many obstacles in its long and illustrious history. It has beaten the dark ages, great wars, and some selfish and aggressive leaders. Great works of art have been bombed, burned, deemed degenerative, defaced, stolen and copied, but the art has always prevailed. Its history is too rich with great moments and remarkable individuals performing some very engaging activities for it to fall. Art is presently growing at a pace that has rarely been seen in history. With all the greatness and potential of technology, people are desperately searching out balances for the catatonic life style of a days work in front of a computer. How many hours can one look at a computer screen before they start to become lost in a technological fog..

Much of the work force leaves their jobs every day semi- spaced from the hypnotics of working at a computer. People are seeking creative and physical outlets to balance their daily routines at work. They are searching for hobbies and interests that define the quality of their life. They are respecting the lessons and romance of the past, and visiting art galleries and museums in record numbers.

In the school systems, the arts are the last of the survivors in the race to remove the electives. Most of the wood, metal and automotive shops no longer exist. Many of the schools are chipping away at the Home Economics and Agriculture programs. This leaves the brunt of the weight on the arts, most notably, music and visual art. The role and responsibility of the arts teacher in today¹s fast paced world is even greater than before and includes the preserving of the arts and exposing all the wonderful layers of learning that the arts provide the individual. More and more students are realizing their talents and seeking out directions for the future that contain some level of creative thinking and doing. Even the advent of the computer and its potential as a tool in the world of visual stimuli has opened up numerous avenues of employment for the artistic individual.

My spirits are repaired and I, as a teacher of the arts have a renewed enthusiasm, momentum and self esteem. The arts can stand side by side with technology, just fine. They are certainly opposites and in this instance opposites do attract.

Art Sherwyn

Artists Never Retire

Many of the great artists around the world lived to be very old. Picasso was 92, Salvador Dali 85, Georgia O¹Keefe 98 and Marc Chagall 98. Claude Monet, one of histories greatest impressionists died in 1926 at 86. Miro was 93, Matisse 85, Degas 83, and Renoir 78. Many of these artists lived during times when average life spans were in the 40s and 50s. Hokusai, one of the greatest of all Japanese painters was born in 1760 and lived to be 89. Hans Hals died in 1666 at 86 while Camille Corot died at 81 in 1875. The world recently lost one of their most prolific Abstract Expressionists, Willem DeKoonig at 93. Andrew Wyeth, considered one of our greatest American painters is still going strong at 82. The list can go on and on, Hans Hoffmann 86, Georges Braque 81, Alexander Calder 78 and Edvard Munch 82.

This is not by coincidence. The longevity of a human being is directly related to the size of their purpose. The human organism lives off of motivation and aspiration. Once these elements cease to exist, the body shuts down.

Artists never retire.” Many have painted or created until their last days. It has often been said that most famous artists were not considered worthy of greatness until after fifty years of age. It takes time to develop technique, purpose and style. There-in lies one of the benefits to being an artist, “You get better with age.”

It takes many years of hard work and persistent practice to become proficient in creating art. I¹m enlightened to know that I have as much time as my existence will afford without any borders or ceilings to block my pathway, empowering me to create art today that will be better than the art I created yesterday.

Art For The Sake Of Art ­ You Don’t Have To Show It

Most art should not be made for the purpose of showing it to anyone. Theoretically, the real purists make art only for the sake of making better art. In that sense, the artist should show only his or her last creation. All the works up to that point should be created for the sake of the final piece. Of course, this theory is extreme, and usually employed only by the most true purists. These artists are many times poorer financially, yet rich spiritually.

On the other end of the spectrum is the artist who makes art for the monetary value it carries. This usually entails mass-producing a particular style, and then creating a marketing scheme to unload the works in volume. These artists can be financially successful, but the purity of their message can get lost in the process.

The concept of making art for the purpose of exhibiting, eliminate many potential artisans. Showing one¹s efforts to others is very intimidating, especially to the beginning artist. This world is full of artistically talented individuals who will never partake in the act of drawing, painting, or sculpting simply because they were too frightened to even try. My biggest question to them is “what are you fearful about?” There are no rules that state that you must show your art to others. In fact, you have all the permission you desire, to throw away every single piece you make for the rest of your life. The only eyes that have to be laid on your art, are your own. With that knowledge, you now can take a few years and get on the road to becoming artistic. Without fear or intimidation, you are now free to draw, paint or sculpt in any manner you wish. You can fail to your heart¹s content as you probe, experiment and explore the process of learning art.

Actually, the act of exhibiting and/or showing your art, especially in the early stages of your development detours the learning and growth process. Becoming proficient at art involves years and years of exploring, drawing, experimenting and creating. I have heard on several occasions that “most of our greatest artists were not considered great until after fifty years of age.” Creating art at a sophisticated level takes a tremendous amount of time and discipline to explore the artistic process and develop personal style.

Some of our greatest learning comes from a mind clear of pressures to succeed. Without these burdens you can freely explore the depths of your true self and spirit. You can learn at a pace that lines up with your own requisites. You can take part in art for the most profound reason of all, to make better art tomorrow than you made yesterday.

Art Sherwyn