What is so Useful about Art?

Art from the Psyche - Emotively Driven.Boat People.  Resin, acrylic & oak. 29cm x 19cm. Edition of 24. — Art from the Psyche - Emotively Driven.
**Boat People.** Resin, acrylic & oak. 29cm x 19cm. Edition of 24.

How did we get to this Question?

In my previous blogs I was addressing questions around why I am a sculptor and why I make art. I talked about why I feel drawn to working in three-dimensions, what I think I am exploring through making things, and I touched upon how this links to wellbeing. Now I will explore a little more about what art does, and why it is useful.

Subjectivity

In the previous blog I quoted Gilbert Rose, who was talking about the value of re-assimilating feeling to thought and perception, whether through art or psychotherapy, and how both work to illuminate reality from a non-objective approach – that is to say, from a subjective direction. This is very important because, while objectivity can be very useful, and is certainly very valued in our society, the heart of our individual experience is subjective. It is here that I need to meet and understand myself.

How is it that my Art can have Meaning for Someone Else?

I make things from a personal perspective, and I find it curious that these objects can be so meaningful for another person. Many people don’t resonate with my work, which is fine, but what is happening when something that I have made does hold value for someone else?

(Here I am also talking, not just about my own work, but any time that one person makes something and another person is moved by it. )

How does that Work?

My sense is that, although I make things from my own personal direction, what my audience sees and connect with is the universality of human experience within the exploration. The exact particulars aren’t as relevant; what matters is describing the nature of experience. The communication says, “Yes, I understand this, I have been there,” and that leaves room for the other person to move in. I observe that my audience don’t necessarily want to interrogate the exact nature of the connection, it arises somewhere between visual language and felt sense, and that is the best place for it to dwell - as a tacit understanding rather than a dissected one. People read the honest depth that the artist has gone to, and the subject matter is just a vehicle.

Who Else Thinks This?

In his book, “The Art Rules,” Paul Klein says: “…the more of yourself that goes into your art, the more people are going to relate, empathise, and get emotionally and intellectually involved.” He continues:

“There is not a linear relationship between the personal content an artist puts into their art and what the viewer takes from it. Invariably an artist’s use of very personal content will not be what the viewer latches onto. The viewer will clearly grasp that the emotional, visceral content is present and then substitute their own issues right on top of yours. They may be moved to tears, but it is not because they identify with your pathos, but because you have opened a door within them – a door that becomes your passageway between your art and their emotions, often bringing the viewer to identify with your art and you, from which a lot of good things flow.”

I find this topic both fascinating and moving, and I will return to explore it further later on.

Join me for my next blog here in a fortnight’s time, as I talk about how my making process works.

Reference: Klein, P. (2015) The Art Rules. Bristol: Intellect.