Society's Point on Art

The following blurb was brought to you by a heated conversation with a good friend.

In this culture and society, we have a very strange and limited impression of what it is to be an 'artist.' Art is defined as the 'creative process,' or something to that extent. An artist is someone who paints for a living. Or writes for money. Or plays music onstage for an audience. But the philosophy behind art is not so limited. Art is a human manifestation of hard work and emotion, and encapsulates a great deal of different activities and objects.

The first misconception of artistry is the belief that it must be one of a very select group of activities. It's our commonly held cultural belief that art must be one of the following: music, dnace, sculpture, painting, sketching, writing prose or poetry, metalworking, photography, and anything falling into or near these categories. But perhaps art is not so narrow a thing. Perhaps there are many more things that have the qualities of artistry. For example, why can't the creative aspects of science be considered art, and those who discover it to be artists? They are, in many ways, directly similar to the steriotyped artist: a person who devotes their entire life to a specific task, hoping to one day unmask a truth for other people.

The second misconception of an artist is that they can create their art for any purpose. This is not the case. True art works to bring a person closer to their inner self, to God, to that thing that no-one really understands but we all wish to see. So an artist whose work is swayed by the opinions and financial incentives of their audience is merely producing for consumption. Sell out artists are not artists at all.

So, what's the Piper trying to play?

Art and artistry are personal journeys, attempting to find creative ways to pull one's view on reality out in a physical manifestation. But artists are found in all situations where these journeys are being undertaken, everything from computer programmers to chefs.