For a while I struggled with my artistic identity. All I really knew is that I wanted to create original work that captivated the audiences. Rather selfish, egocentric and as expected, devoid of meaning. I was more focused on trying to replicate the beauty that I saw in the work of others such that the true notion of creativity completely slipped over the top of my head. It took me years and quite a lot of inward reflection to come to my personal understanding of creative expression, which without a doubt is as subjective as it gets.
When someone tells us they are an artist what comes to mind? That he or she draws, paints, or they are a sculptor maybe; and with the advent of technology, photographic equipment has become more readily accessible, so maybe they’re a photographer. That is what I imagine comes to mind for others as it has for me in the past. The association is almost always a visual one but it doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to do any of the things I have briefly listed above to be considered an artist. Think of a surgeon, bringing ailment to the ill with swift strokes of a knife; perhaps a chemist, as a scientist creating products with unique properties and diverse application from reactants we often have nothing more than empirical data devoid of concise theories (which are more ridden with exceptions than not – transition metal coordination orbital splitting and electron spin for example). It is not uncommon to describe someone as an artist in their respective field based on expertise, ie. the “art of healing.” Nevertheless, as I devolved in the visual medium and later on in music, with a continued effort for turning art into science it occurred to me rather suddenly that art is not just a medium of expression nor a science but more so a way of life, a methodology of thinking, and a capacity for open mindedness.
In requiem of the past, we create for the future: to better “understand” ourselves, to build up and inspire others, and to spread our ideas. For me, being an artist is synonymous with being an inventor; they are one and the same. We all have the capacity to create because it is my understanding that, bluntly put, artists are thieves. We are thieves in the sense that we use our surroundings, our influences and understanding of the world to shape it because we are the products of not just our genes but our choices: be it a favorite song that reminds us of a memory, or a sporting activity that makes us feel happy; our choices continuously push us down a path which we learn from. I have a motto of mine I like to go back to every once in a while when I have a creative block: “My eyes are the scanner, my mind the [subjective] filter, and my hands the printer.” I think it is self explanatory, we soak up with subjective perception the world around us, its problems, its ghastliness and beauty; the things we perceive as important, unique to each and every one of us, and we look for solutions. The solutions are unbounded and may include the expressionist for trying conveying awareness while the scientist will look for the explanation, and the inventor for the technology; all in the mean time not forgetting of others’ support.
I mentioned that artists are thieves; it was a while back when I stumbled upon a book by Austin Kleon titled “Steal Like an Artist.” In it, Kleon describes his vision of the evolution of art and I can find resemblance of his philosophical view on the topic with that of Isaac Newton who once said “If I have seen further than others, it is by standing upon the shoulders of giants.” Then in sudden realization I understood that true originality is non-existent but rather we all influence the direction of culture, science, technology, and even beliefs based on shared past experiences and knowledge. We are all artists! Because through personal experiences and conscientiousness each and every one develops an intuition of being: like the painter with an unique choice of color or technique, or the scientist following a clue in their research, or the doctor developing a treatment plan based on their diagnosis.