Fall in Love With Art
As an artist, I can paint anything I want on a canvas. I get to decide the colors, shapes, size. I even get to give the piece a NAME! I sign the art discretely on the bottom to mark it as my own. So yes, I create the work. Ownership is 100% mine...until someone else looks at it.
While I am working on a painting, very few eyes get to see the creation in progress. It is during this bit of time that I can honestly enjoy owning the painting. My emotions, my responses, my comments lead it to its finished state. I am thankful for those hours
but I also find myself wanting to finish a piece quickly so I can SHARE it.
An image has a tendency to soak up every viewers thoughts. Have you ever been at an art show and heard people speaking openly about the work (right in front of the artist!)? Usually reserved people may find themselves saying horrible things about an image out loud. (To my horror, I am honestly guilty of this). That same image will attract just as many positive honest comments in the same day. Being on the receiving side of these comments can be wonderful and frustrating but to me, art screams to be talked about loudly. Viewers have the absolute right to shout out their ideas and feeling on an image. Why? Because the image BELONGS to them. Not in the legal sense mind you but because the art becomes a part of the viewers environment. Once we view an image with our eyes, our brains can literally fall in love!
According to Professor Semir Zeki, chair in neuroaesthetics at University College London,
"The blood flow (to the brain) increased for a beautiful painting just as it increases when you look at somebody you love. It tells us art induces a feel good sensation direct to the brain."
You read about this HERE.
I personally love this. I also can beautifully picture images of art that I "love" clearly in my mind. When I try to bring back images of art I said "meh" to...there's a black hole. So art that I love becomes a part of my memory. I becomes a part of me. I own that image in my head.
Our memories are not a tangible, touchable item. Filing cabinets do not exist in our brains. Actually, scientists understand very little about how memory actually works because it is so complex. It is known that in order to form a memory, a person needs to be paying attention. So next time a piece of art presents itself to you, pay attention, take a closer look. Own the painting! You never know, you might just fall in love!
