art is not (always) bullshit

the conversation began simply and innocently enough. after carefully applying both apricot and plum preserves to his breakfast slices of french bread, my boyfriend turns to me and says, "look. this is my art." we chuckle, and i start applying both to my bread, joking that i am not stealing his idea but calling it my own and i will provide him with an essay explaining why what i am doing is new.

we laugh at this critique of contemporary art.

then he says (to the best of my memory, though the exact wording may be off), "that is why do not like art. so much of it is mired in bullshit."

i laugh again. and i agree at the moment.

but then i start thinking.

this is my open letter to all who think art is mired in bullshit. it started as an e-mail, but perhaps this is a better forum.

"This is probably not something to be read quickly at work, but I have been thinking about the art = bullshit idea all morning. For some reason, it really sent me on an introspective bend. First, I believe it is something of a generalization, and one I can find humorous because I've certainly come across it...Ray at night or TNT are fertile grounds for finding examples. I also think that part of your belief comes from not having an in depth knowledge of it or an interest or inclination, much as I find economics tedious or calculus irrelevant to my daily life. Of course they are important, but it all seems so uninteresting and useless to me. But, having acknowledged that much of the contemporary art world is founded on bullshit, I still believe art itself (and design as a very closely related field) still has profound value, and is often dismissed as superfluous educationally and intellectually. I think that is a mistake. Reason and logic are important. They do make us human. But there is more to humanity than left brain. I only bring it up b/c the whole thing made me question why I'm dedicating my life to something that is often perceived as bullshit. Am I just another purveyor of meaningless, gratuitous work? Am I somehow less intelligent for choosing to learn about visual communication instead of mathematics? Is art irrelevant? Culturally, I think most people would say yes. I think it unfair. And I'd like to think it is not true. I may not understand physics and I am struggling with the simplest CSS programming, but I understand how to use imagery to communicate ideas, emotions, new ways of seeing. The last time the we pass each other on the street book was exhibited, the people featured in it walked away with a new sense of pride in their words, their stories, and their recovery. Almost all of them told me the experience was one of great healing for them, and of great pride. Several visitors to the exhibit told me that it gave them a new perspective on addiction, and made the people in the program seem so human. The work gave others the opportunity to see these addicts as people. It made a difference to the addicts, to their families, and maybe changed some perceptions. Of course it wasn't all my doing; their stories were completely moving before I visualized them. But the visual work took the words to another place, and though it may sound overly new age cheeseball, I think it got some people in the heart. It isn't necessarily measurable or tangible. But I have to believe it is important. And I guess I'm telling you all of this because I want you to understand why I am making art/design and why it is so important to me. It isn't just what I do. It's who I am and how I live. And I work my ass off to make sure it is not bullshit. well, most of it isn't, anyway."

campylobacter (or how i've been sick for a month)

so i came back from mexico with some friends. bacteria that made my stomach cramp, burn, growl...and many other things. i've been sick for a freaking month. i finally get two weeks off, and i spend it battling these freeloaders. and i didn't even really lose weight...just some muscle. bummer.