This is Art

Today, I am going to talk about why I chose this name for my blog. My blog is titled "This is Art." A simple name, yes, but this is also representative of my philosophy on life. Every moment of every day, I do my best to say: "This is Art." Each waking moment: at school during my studies of cave paintings, Greek architecture, and Egyptian sculpture in my art history class, to the modern drawings, paintings, and sculpture being covered in Contemporary Art class, to the wonderfully abstract compositions from myself and fellow students in 2D design class, and even the cardboard and paper models we have been constructing in my 3D class, everything is art. This is in addition to the wonderful exhibits I have seen thus far at MOFA, including everything from reactive electronic exhibits to drawings from local high schools to work by individuals with Autism and much, much more.

But school is not the only place where I can say "this is art." Artistry can be found in nature: in the clouds, in the trees, in the flowing water, in the sound of the wind, and in the different smells as you walk through a familiar environment. I do my best to remain consistently mindful of these things, as I find they will often reappear in my own artwork in a different form. It is also a very meditative practice to constantly observe the beauty in our everyday outside surroundings. Artistry can be found in people: the way they present themselves, the clothes they choose to wear, the words they choose to express themselves, the way they move and carry themselves, and in every other aspect of what simply makes them... well, themself. Artistry can be found in architecture, in product design, music, juggling, playing, blog writing, and really, everything. This is really, truly, Art.

When it comes to the visual arts, the ones I see as truly great are those who I believe share a similar philosophy with me on this. Many notable examples of this were found in a recent lecture in my Contemporary Art class, which featured a Powerpoint presentation on sculpture. What a variety of interesting materials are utilized for art these days! I especially liked the work of Tara Donovan in this respect. Look at this:

What a beautiful work! And what is it made of? Plastic cups. Cups!

It is very satisfying to see that Ms. Donovan has created a work of art which almost anyone can glance at and say "that is beautiful." But I have no doubt that Tara herself sees the beauty in even a single plastic cup. Without this, how could one even begin to imagine the beauty of thousands of cups such as this? Tara utilizes a wide variety of these typical household materials such as paper plates, scotch tape, and drinking straws. I hope her work can make an even larger number of people begin to realize that every moment of every day: "This is Art."