Thoughts on Art

Right now I’m studying art history – just for the heck of it. It’s been fun (what little I’ve studied so far). The current book I’m reading was written by a former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s really nice to be able to study something I’m interested in for a change. The problem with a formal education is that you often have to study things you’re totally NOT interested in. But, of course, that’s a good thing because it makes you a more well-balanced person. Having said all that, I still maintain that it’s much more fun to study something I want to study. Kevin knows a lot more about art history than I do. (He tends to know a lot more about most things than I do. Yesterday I went to the farmer’s market with a few girlfriends. We were admiring all the pretty flowers and I was thinking to myself how Kevin probably knows the names of most of them but I probably could only name two or three! This is very sad, I know.) I remember the first time we visited the National Gallery of Art in D.C. (Check out their website – they have a really cool “web tour of the week.”) It was fabulous. Kevin really helped to open a whole new world of art for me. He challenged me to “see” art differently than I had before. The author of this textbook I’m reading defines art as “when anyone in the world takes any kind of material and fashions it into a deliberate statement.” Although that’s a very broad definition, the author challenges his readers as to why the definition of art should not be broad. When I think about it, though, this definition is kind of scary. I mean, this definition of “art” would include all the hokey homemade items in all the craft-fairs in the nation! (You know what I’m talking about? Those places where they glue clothespins together, spray-paint it purple (with some cutesy saying), and then sell it for $15.00? The worst part about it all is that there’s actually a market for this type of “art”!) But, then again, just because it’s technically art doesn’t mean it’s good art. Kevin’s mom gave me a great little book called The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer. The premise is that practically everything we do can be considered art. After all, in line with the above definition of art, what we do is the ultimate “statement” of who we are and what we want to portray. Another reason I liked this book is that it reminds us not to forget the “little stuff” in life. The details of life can be a beautiful “art” with very little effort. And, in the end, isn’t it the little, every-day things that will enrich our lives the most, if we enable it?