An Artistic Experience

PARIS, France -  An artistic experience for me is my unique perspective of seeing the physical world with a more meaningful sense. Since the real definition of art is ambiguous, an artistic experience can also be vague itself. I think the whole point of understanding an artistic experience is for you to elaborate and understand art in general. An artistic experience for me is divided into three points of views: how I perceive art as the creator, how I see art as an assessor, and how I distinguish the difference between art and reality.

Photo by: ba1969

To fully define what an artistic experience is, I came up with a simple idea that art, although perceived or seen or felt as a form of an object as its byproduct, is the actual transformation and application of the person’s thoughts to the object which his/her creativity is applied to. This way, I can easily recognize where and when an artistic experience is happening.

The first point of view of an artistic experience is when I am perceiving art as the creator, or simply when I am actually doing art myself as a way of my personal expression and creation. For me, changing a bleak object into a work of wonder is an artistic experience in itself. The actual experience is the conversion of my ingenious approach to a substantial entity--an output. An example is when I turn a piece of white paper into a colorful abstract painting. By this kind of transformation, an artistic experience is actually happening.


Another standpoint of an artistic experience is when I am the critic of a particular artwork. Basically, it is when I see how profound a subject is just by looking at it or how the artist meticulously applied all of his/her productivity to the end result. It is also when I apply my opinions or/and judgment on a piece of art. An example is when I watch films and I see loopholes on them and criticize them, and after seeing the film completely, I think of how the movie should have ended if I made it myself, or how the cameras should have been placed. When I have my own outlook, whether applied or not, is a time that I am having an artistic experience.

Finally, to complete the artistic experience is to understand the difference between art and simple reality. An argument may arise when I say “difference” as others may say that art is also part of reality, but what I mean with this is that art is more of perspective and interpretation while reality is the actual state of the subject. An example is contemplating the difference between “music and lyrics” and the “quality of the sound” of a particular The Beatles song. Music and its meaning (the lyrics) is art while the quality of the CD or the sound (volume, smoothness, etc.) is just the actual state of the song that is playing. This way, I was able to recognize my understanding of their differences.

To sum it up, an artistic experience for me is the distinctive perception of seeing art with a more evocative sense that is seen in three different points of views. The points of views are materialized effectively through a better understanding of art.



Reference:

Reid, L. A. (1926). Artistic Experience. Mind (New Series ed., p. 469). Manchester: Manchester University Press.

Call Me Jed™ (cc) 2013. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Philippines License.

The Art of the Streets of Manila

MANILA, Philippines - Art, defined as the undefined form of self-expression (or group,) is unquestionably found wherever you go. Although art is seen in different forms, sizes, shapes and textures, and of course, not limited to a kind of painting or any picture made by hand, it is arguably generalized by many that art is simply a picture. Having this idea made me think that a picture is more of an art to some when it is drawn by the hand. This kind of sorting gave me a very unique discovery that there is art wherever we look in the streets of the Philippines that is never recognized by award giving bodies, not even by the locals themselves. I am referring to the art that is probably the “most erased” of all time: graffiti.

Photo by: beermug

Graffiti is a kind of a drawn picture or letters printed on a wall or any form of solid object using aerosol spray paint or simply paint as a sign of tags or expression of an individual, or groups. It is plainly a street art. A very detailed explanation would be the one written in 1985 by Allan Schwartzman in his book Street Art where it says "Art, specifically visual art developed in public spaces - that is, "in the streets" - thought the term usually refers to unsanctioned art, as opposed to government sponsored initiatives. The term can include traditional graffiti artwork, sculpture, stencil graffiti, sticker art, wheatpasting and street poster art, video projection, art intervention, guerilla art, and street installations. Typically, the term street art or more specifically post-graffiti is used to distinguish contemporary public-space artwork from territorial graffiti, vandalism, and corporate art. Artists have challenged art by situating it in non-art contexts. "Street" artists do not aspire to change the definition of an artwork, but rather to question the existing environment with its own language. They attempt to have their work communicate with everyday people about socially relevant themes in ways that are informed by esthetic values without being imprisoned by them."


Young Filipinos, most especially those living in the slums of Metro Manila and who usually participate in gang activities, are the most responsible when it comes to the growing number of graffiti in the Philippine streets. And why do they do that? As a form of branding (most of the time,) to show others that they have their own territories or a growing space they can call their own, a tag or a personalized symbol to show power or level. Little did they know is that, even though they have vandalized private walls and platforms, they have created art in its own right.

It is art in its own not only because it is a form of an expression through the use of carefully sprayed colorful paint on walls, but also because it is their way of expressing their advocacies, thoughts, freedom and brotherhood through a physical form which is visible to the naked eye—as a form of communication and expression. The sad reality is that it isn’t appreciated as much as other forms of artworks because it is also a form of vandalism which cost establishments thousands of pesos, if not millions, through maintenance. Graffiti, as a matter of fact, is barely called a masterpiece by passersby.



Reference:

What is Graffiti?. (n.d.). College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences | Georgia Southern University. Retrieved May 17, 2013, from http://class.georgiasouthern.edu/writling/professional/TechWrite/9-2/taylor/whatisgraffiti.html
Call Me Jed™ (cc) 2013. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Philippines License.