Art. What is it? I know, how many more people are going to try and answer their question. Well, count me as another individual throwin his own interpretation of it in the mix. Take it, or leave it.

Really though, what is it? We all have a lens that comes with its own unique specifications, forged and polished through the journey from our conception through to the steps and sways our life’s experiences have danced with us. Our culture, upbringing, biological makeup, learned or innate disposition, or whatever other influences one might choose to include, have all added up to construct the frame and filters we view and interpret our surroundings through. It’s been spoken to death, the idea that you ask ten people what they see in a flower, for example, and you’ll get ten different answers. It’s fuckin true though, and it’s fascinating.

What brought me to bring this topic up today, was an interesting encounter on social media sparked from my last piece of work (the image you see above these words). There was a reaction that I quite honestly hadn’t even considered to manifest. Yet there it was. The interesting thing is that while my initial reaction to seeing it was laughter, it had come to my realisation that I had actually forgotten once having a similar point of view. The reaction from social media that I had seen was mention of this piece as being NSFW (not safe for work), amongst other things, or an overall sense of distaste. Mind you, there was also positive response as well, but of course, the negative kept me thinking.

I say that I “remember” having a similar point of view for one main reason. I definitely did, in my youth. This was a time where my perspective was calibrated mainly by my peers and the social environment of my culture in that time. Whether this was high school, or otherwise. During this period in my growth, I was almost limited to the ideals and expectations of those I surrounded myself with. I’ve always prided myself on being the type to “do their own thing”, but I can’t deny that in an attempt to navigate the naive landscape of peer pressure and social awkwardness, I complied. I was then lucky enough to have chosen to go to a college that none of my high school classmates had chosen to go to, and that allowed me the opportunity to purposefully shed myself of those silly constraints, and dive into whatever would come my way without preconceived views or expectations. My tastes changed, and they have continued to every year after that, all the way up until now, and I’ll be damned if I don’t continue to ensure that they do.

So that’s great, but how does this lead into the “meaning” of art? Well, I suppose to summarise my intent here, art is what YOU want it to be. And what YOU “want” it to be is entirely dependant on your experiences, affinities, and whatever else I had previously mentioned. It changes. It evolves. And no one, not a single one of us knows what in the fuck we’re talking about. At least, when attempting to speak for anyone other than yourself. There’s nothin wrong with not knowing what we’re talking about either. How are we supposed to? We’re alive for maybe 80 years at a time IF we’re lucky. We’re exposed to a quantum-pixel of maybe one frame of an aspect of the universe we have the inevitably fleeting priveledge to experience. We’re not even babies. We’re moments. A drop of rain in an endless ocean of time and space.

Art is individual.

Minimalism, what is it? I’m no expert, but to me, it’s the absolute reduction of all unnecessary elements. In other words, it’s the use of only what is required to convey a message, nothing else. I use the idea “to convey a message” because it’s precisely what we do as artists through our work. It’s a form of expression, of communication. But I digress.

As I mentioned, I’m no expert. I haven’t studied or explored it for very long. I do however find myself attracted to aesthetics that coincide with the ethos of minimalism. My kicks seem to come from subtleties almost invisible to the average eye. Those extra little drops of effort that can be happily discovered when carefully studying a piece. Delicate play with identical hue or value that only differ in texture. A dark figure hiding within a field of shadow, betrayed by the faintest glance of light outlining its figure. My water bottle in matte black with semi-glossed black writing. The rough then smooth white rubber underneath the soft not-so-flexible white leather, with white stitching and laces, finished with the white interior fabric of my favorite pair of shoes.

Let me tell you, it’s not easy. Sure, to some gifted individuals, a lot of this might be second nature. But for the rest of us, it’s a struggle. You really wouldn’t think so at first. I remember a more naive version of myself walking by a painting and seeing others almost transfixed in an attempt to unlock some taste of an understanding of what they were gazing. I didn’t fuckin get it. It’s a red square on a white canvas…..big whoop…..(the image found above this post has nothing to do with this imaginary piece)…not going to lie…..a part of me still doesn’t get it. But DAMN, there’s SOMETHING pretty about the simplicity of that bold toned geometry making a stand against the emptiness of the infinity behind it.

Why of all things would I be speaking of Minimalism though? Well, simple, I seem to really like it. There’s no agenda here. I’m not trying to make you imagine that red square on a blank canvas and give you some pretense of “what it reaaaally means maaaaan…” No, I think it’s a beautiful art form, state of mind even. This little blurb I’ve put together here in no way does it justice, I get that. I imagine that I’ll revisit this subject matter when I have a better grasp on it. But for now, I think it’s incredible to be effected, even on a small scale by anything that seems to almost aggressively attempt to void itself of impactive entities. At least, that’s my take on it.

It’s balance. A carefully calculated, but instinctively intense balance.

* The piece above is called “Circular” from a recent exploration into minimalism of mine. I’ll pop a link below to the Behance project when I post it in the next coming weeks.