What I love about art is that it changes the world.
The simplest of acts can bring about new thought and new
response and new ideas where they didn't exist previously.
Let's say I put a wildly colored bird house that I painted
into my yard, and everyone that drives by sees it proudly
displayed. Now, many will say "That's an eyesore," or
"Wow that sure is ugly." Still others will complain that
"That is most assuredly NOT how a birdhouse is supposed
to look!"
But some will say "My word how pretty!"
Others will say "Huh. I never saw anything like that!"
Still others will say
"It would have never occurred to me to do that."
And others will think
"No one told me I could paint it how I wanted!"
Regardless of how they respond, they are responding
to something that didn't exist-- forced to consider
something they hadn't anticipated. So all responses
are valid, and any response is mission accomplished.
The viewer's world has been entered by a contrary thought
that goes against the predictable every day recurrence
of the 'same old.' Newness emerges, and with it responses
that could not have occurred without something new.
Stimulation.
Birth.
Controversy.
Questioning.
The act itself may not be popular or understood or
fully formed or attractive. That's unimportant.
The act of creation itself is sexy;
Expanding consciousness.
Exploding restrictions.
Imparting philosophy.
Interpreting the world.
Rebelling against the drab and the mundane.
The birth of ideas, the birth of new points of view, the
solidifying of concepts and opinions, the inspiration to
dare, the solidarity of knowing you are not alone in an
askew view, the challenge to question and create and
invent for yourself.
Whether it's one person or millions, an artist makes
their mark on the world by creating something that
creates a ripple effect, ever growing outward. When
a person in transformed, they carry the changed view
with them to interact with every person they meet,
and so on....
Social scientists will tell you that the best means of
finding a solution to a problem is to have many
different sets of eyes looking at it and seeing it from
new POVs that have not commented on it before.
That's how you get outside of ruts. That's how you
innovate. That's when insight and inspiration occurs.
Thinking outside the box, going against the grain is how
we transform and progress.
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