Art Is For All Of Us
We hear, read, and see a lot these days about recognizing, appreciating, and accepting the differences in one another. It is almost impossible to count the number of social media posts, videos, and whatever other media is used to discuss and/or argue about race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, proper or preferred pronouns, and the list goes on. Ad infinitum. Ad nauseum.
Seldom is there anything about our similarities. I'd like to mention something that ignores all of the issues mentioned previously and provide a pronoun or rather noun that is universally accepted and appreciated: "Artist." Yeah, I hear you. What a crazy concept that is, right? Fortunately for all, it's true.
Art does not care about any of that. Art does not care who you love. Art does not care about your gender. Art does not care about your color, faith or lack thereof, race, ethnicity, or any other issues that seem to divide us these days.
An Artist is one who creates. An artist is as individual as each and every human on this earth and is equally as diverse. That is the beauty of what we, as artists are and do. John Lennon once said that “My role in society, or any artist's or poet's role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how to feel. Not as a preacher, not as a leader, but as a reflection of us all.” He was right.
An artist conveys what they see, hear, and feel into strokes of a brush, pen or pencil; the careful placement and setting of a camera; the poetry and prose that flows from their hearts and mind; mallets and chisels creating images from stone; and I've yet to even scratch the surface. An artist is universal in their love of what they do and appreciation for others who create and bring their visions to life regardless of the medium.
Perhaps a utopic pipedream but a world with more artists and art cannot help but become a better place.
So, let's forget the vitriolic prejudices this world might hold and focus instead on the beauty within our minds. Our visions. Let us be equal. Let us be artists.
