The Fine Arts Need to be More Mainstream

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art, artistic, artistry, artists, paintings, poems, poetry, poets, spirituality, what is art

Fiction is my main form of writing. I like to create characters, their conflict and the kind of world they’re living in. I like to explore issues or make a statements.

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But sometimes I like to get personal, I write poetry. Even though I haven’t done it in a while and I don’t have a strong drive to write poems, I do like to be alone and process my thoughts and emotions that way. I haven’t had any of my poems published and I don’t have any goal to do so. Maybe someday I will, but right now I don’t have the interest.

Occasionally, I read my poems at open-mike sessions. Its fun and there something of a release to expose your thoughts and feelings to a group of people who appreciate poetry. I have to admit, I like the idea of being on stage like that – and that is probably the only time I don’t mind being the center of attention.

Maybe now since I’m living in Brooklyn and there’s more opportunities to meet other writers and poets, I’ll get back into poetry – and maybe do an open-mike again. That would be cool.

One thing I would like to attempt someday, further down the road, is to write a story epic-poem style – like Homer and Dante. It would be a huge challenge, and I won’t do it for years. I can’t say I’ll ever publish it, but I do know if its poorly done I will not release it to the world.

Another reason why I’m bringing that up is that I’d like to see poems in general make a comeback. I know poetry isn’t as mainstream as it once was centuries ago. It seems like poetry is for the unconventional artsy types and the literary elitists. It’s like poets are a rare breed, with so few taking it seriously anymore. The only poet I can think of who gets any respect in the U.S. today is Maya Angelou.

That’s all? Aren’t there many poets out there releasing collections? Why doesn’t anyone appreciate poetry anymore? Way back in the day – I’m talking a few centuries ago – a cultured person could recite numerous poems from heart. Why aren’t we doing that anymore? Why doesn’t society take the arts as seriously as it once did? It’s like the fine arts are seen as boring, dull and hard to understand. It’s too Old School, it’s something snobs like, it’s so old fashioned.

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Why so? Poetry is beautiful, when done correctly (I’m sorry, but the singer Jewel’s book of poems did not contain lovely poetry). So is ballet, opera, paintings that actually have meaning and detail, and not the modern stuff that are just designs. Remember that woman who dyed a small island’s beach pink? And then put a maze of orange sheets around Central Park? She claims it was all art. Yeah, how?

One of the bloggers I follow here on WordPress, Victoria Grefer, recently talked about how literature is not taken seriously these days. My comment was, and I’ll say it here too: I think that is because our society has changed in such a way that the average person does not have time to take in art as an expression. We all live more stressful, busy lives. And there so much distraction these days – TV, the Internet, smartphones. It’s as if we’re numbing ourselves and turning into robots who can’t appreciate the human experience. I wonder what will become of human beings if we continue down this route – and by that, I mean the numbing, not the classical art appreciation.

This is a topic I’ve been meaning to bring up and I’ve been re-writing this blog post so much because I ramble so much. But this captures a lot of what I am trying to say. We need to appreciate the arts more not because they are lovely and we should revive tradition. We should do it for our own minds, hearts and even souls.

Is Writing an Art?

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art, artisans, artist, artsy, artsy people, authors, books, creating, creation, creative, creativity, novelists, novels, stories, storytelling, writers

I’ve always wondered if writing is an art. I know it is a craft, but is it also an art?

One reason why I wonder is because art is considered something that we create. That would mean creating characters, their world and their conflicts, would be an art, right?

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But when we think of the word, “artist”, many think of a painter, dancer or musician. I get the impression writers are further down the list of potential artists.

According to Merriam-Webster, an artist is:

• one who professes and practices an imaginative art, or a person skilled in the fine arts.

Hmm. While telling a story is certainly imaginative art, it is not considered a fine art. Poetry maybe, but not fiction.

However, there’s this second definition by Merriam-Webster:

• one who is adept at something

So, in this way, if the writer is very good, writing can be an art.

But what is art, really?

It has so many definitions, not including the usual painting and dancing. Small talk is called an art. Coming up with a skillful plan is too, so is learning to assemble furniture. So, art altogether is being very skilled at something.

But can a writer be lumped in with the sculptors and clothing designers? Perhaps. Some stories require great imagination. I would say J.K. Rowling is more of an artist than Jodi Piccoult because she created a world not at all like ours. We don’t have magic or a boarding school for magic, with paintings talking to us. Jodi Piccoult’s worlds are much like ours.

However, to make your readers feel the emotion of your characters – that can be an art. I’ve always thought being artsy meant pouring your thoughts and feelings into your creation. So if we’re pouring those aspects into our stories, or expressing the feelings of our characters, that certainly sounds artistic to me.