Why Art

Making art for  money is probably not a very good motivation.  If I had worked part time somewhere equal to the time invested in developing my scanner art, it would be a nice little sum.  Probably in the 10's of thousand of dollars.  But life and art are not just about money.  Money is OK, don't get me wrong.   I'm not trying to be Gandhi. 

I think we humans want to express ourselves.  I remember a conversation with a high school English teacher many years ago.   I told her I believed the most important things as humans we could do would be to communicate clearly.  I still believe that, its just that it isn't so simple.  I often think words, whether written or spoken get in the way.  It would be great to write the new great American novel.  But everything in writing has been done, and done, and done again.   Creativity as a writer is a truly monumental task.  Not that there are not great writers.  There are many, and I enjoy them.  Just as there are great photographers and painters.  Unfortunately, I think some artists turn to just being weird in an attempt to be original.

When I first stumbled onto scanner photography I saw an opportunity to do something creative and different.   In a world of almost 7 billion people at this time of writing that is truly unusual.  I had no training in art.  The greatest thing in my favor was my ignorance.  I didn't know what it would look like.  I was like a five year old with a new box of crayons.  Pure creativity and exploration.  I did not know composition.  I had to learn.  I knew I wouldn't be the only scanner artist out there.  Therefore, my goal was to eschew the easy stuff and push the limits.  That is still my goal.  Sometimes I think I succeed.

Life is like art.  It isn't easy.  If it is easy, how much are you giving up by not exploring your own limitations and your potential?  Life is something to be creative with.  What are you good at?  It might be that flower garden in the front yard.  Do people stop to look at it?  If they do, you have succeeded. You have communicated something important.
Robert