Happy Halloween!

Pablo Picasso was born this day in 1881 in Spain, the same year Pinocchio came into being.

The question invariably arises: What is art? If eight people think it’s art, and three don’t, then what is it? Is it art by consensus?

The fact that art is a heated topic is already a clue to its true nature. Keep in mind that all opinions are not equal. Art is not the rearrangement of things that already exist. The timeless power of art is in the unique, not the familiar. 

Art is made by its creator; art is not haphazard. It all comes down to a simple yet involving task: you must use whatever time and energy is required to understand the difference between art that elevates your existence from cotton candy.

The only thing worse than having experts evaluate art is the public doing the same thing. It is the tyranny of the few and the tyranny of the masses.

Art is experienced an individual at a time.

I write about truth in great depth in this blog and in my book: An Artist Empowered.

The question arises: Whose truth? This then is the nexus of nearly all strife on the planet, including artists who would be true. Examples are not the intuitive understanding of Zen, but they can be helpful in sorting out the cobwebs from the old cranium.

If you’re fortunate to live in an area that is still mostly smog free, then you can look up on a moonless night and see reality as it is. The cosmos is truth, but, ironically, knowing this doesn’t mean you can comprehend it in this moment. However, this is a tipoff that you must woo the truth; it will never come chasing you.

The same can be said for original art. Looking and grasping are separate entities. Remember, it is you must know what you are perceiving, not the reporter, editor, art critic, or museum directer—name your hired gun expert. Truth is perceived firsthand, one individual at a time. Truth will set you free; this also means knowing what you don’t know.

In recent times, how often have you heard (or uttered) this virulent query: How’s that workin’ out for ya?

Of course, mindlessly repeating often used phrases may keep you connected to your group, or gang, or generation ‘whatever’; doing so, however, is not the path to original work.

Suggestion: the next time you catch yourself about to enter the land of cliches—stop. Reconsider and articulate in your own words. If none come, then this is your wake up call. You have been absorbed. Fortunately, knowing that this situation exists is also the catalyst for extricating yourself from the morass of mass social conditioning.