Have you read about the new apples? “Non-browning, [Arctic® Apples] look better, taste better, last longer” and are now deregulated by the USDA for restriction-free growing in the United States. (!) And while this was the media hype a few weeks ago (non-browning apples! non-browning apples!) all I could think about was Dutch paintings and […]
Category: why art? posts & ideas
posts and ideas about art by janet bright
too much honesty
The most honest piece of art I’ve created is offensive and I’m not sure if it’s offensive because of it’s absolute honesty or because of the big fat expletive at the end. And as I ponder the offensive nature of this art I’ve begun to wonder, have honesty and ‘bad’ language become equally offensive in our society? […]
please please me
“You can please some of the people all of the time, you can please all of the people some of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time”. -John Lydgate In 1995 Russian artists Vitaly Komar and Alex Melamid embarked on a project to discover what art would look like […]
crappy art
What makes art ‘good’? Is ‘good’ determined by how real a painting looks, by a pleasing combination of colour tones, by the subject of a painting? Or is ‘good’ simply and only about how you feel when you look at one particular piece of art? Does it matter how long it takes an artist to create […]
‘quite unnecessary’ replied the office boy
‘QUITE UNNECESSARY’ REPLIED THE OFFICE BOY In 1899, comedy publication Punch Magazine published a joke where a genius enters an office and asks to speak with a patent clerk. The office boy replies, “Quite unnecessary, Sir. Everything that can be invented has been invented.” Are you surprised by the date of that joke? It seems ludicrous that […]
do you have a licence for that?
I’ve heard a lot of conversation these days about who IS an artist and who is NOT an artist and the bottom line for many is, ‘do I have the right education to call myself an artist ?’ There is an exclusive academic art world calling the shots right now and, whereas the commitment and dedication […]
i own everything ©
Did you just post something online? Me too. Then I scrolled through some photos and watched a few YouTube videos. And as I was doing this, I thought of the paperwork I hardly remember reviewing when I signed up for these services. It seems we are all vaguely aware the images we post may be used […]
lost in translation
I have a friend who, while awaiting her mother in a professional office one day, found herself face to face with one of her mother’s colleagues. Because my friend felt nervous in this place where she was so clearly ‘out-of-place’, she stood abruptly, thinking, “this man must be wondering who I am and what I’m […]
i like it. i hate it.
What is it that makes you like something or not? Regardless of what an artist has to say about their work, people will like or dislike something based solely on how they are feeling the exact moment they see it. Reactions can’t be controlled, and an artist can talk until they’re blue in the face about […]
connect
Have you ever felt your day improve the moment the barista at your local coffee shop looked you in the eye and said, “What can I get you today?”. What is it that feels so great about that? Is it pure excitement, at the promise of the halfcaffgrandenonfatextrahotvanilllalatte on the way? Is it something more; is it […]
how to create
Ever wonder where the ability to create comes from? Is it talent, education, awareness (something else)? Or, is ‘art ability’ a state of mind? So many times I’ve heard people say (about any work of art), “I could never do that; I can’t even draw a stick person; I’m not creative”. And I wonder, could that really be […]
the purpose of art
Art directs us to identify vulnerabilities within ourselves and our cultures. Through this exposure, we are granted great opportunity for connection, community, growth and development. We see every moment of every human day impacted by this opportunity, from large scale design & construction of cities, roadways, transport systems, community networks and housing to smaller scale conception and […]