Art Discussion: If there were no people left, would you still make art?

@art_serg: Begs the question. Is art still art if there is no one to look at it?

@artsy_mendoza: Yes

I make a lot of lol things I don’t show y’all but they my lil art piece that make me happy

@clartist.a: Same

I also rage out using art supplies and it feels good to express and get it out sometimes but I don’t call it art, I call it trash lmao

@artsy_mendoza: I’d like to rename my art to trash pls and Thankyou

@art_serg: I counter it. If no one is around to experience your art then it is no longer art. That is also including yourself. Once you leave this world and you don't have anyone to look at your life's work. It's not really art anymore. Just thoughts lost in the ether

The viewer definitely plays an important role in making art actually be ART

@clartist.a: I agree actually

@art_serg: It's a dance between artist and audience.

They go hand in hand

@clartist.a: It’s just trash if no one takes care of it and conserve it to stay in institutions for years to come

@art_serg: Exactly.

@clartist.a: Unless you know, it stays in storage until someone encounters it and put it in the museum

@art_serg: It's like the idea of true death. When your name is spoken for the last time you truly die. Case in point your art has no meaning if no one ever looks at once your gone

@artsy_mendoza: Should skipp all thats and throw it away now lmao

@art_serg: Though who knows maybe some schmuck will find your art and make a fortune once you're gone

@clartist.a: Honestly tho even if all my work is just trash I don’t regret anything I’d still make the work

@art_serg: We never do. They're our creations after all. The good and bad

@clartist.a: Like even if I got a glimpse of the future and saw all my paintings in landfills I don’t care I’ll still make them cause I wouldn’t be living if I’m not creating lol

It’s like my lifeline u know

@art_serg: Thanks @j.castl for the topic. Definitely something interesting to think about

@clartist.a: Totally

@j.castl: 😊

@mimidoyo: This is why I love this chat 😌

@javier.hache.ruiz: Nah art is forever ✨

@clartist.a: As long as it’s archival haha

@art_serg: Exactly lol

Though good thing for you Javier

You do murals on monumental scales

As long as the buildings stand your legacy will remain

@javier.hache.ruiz: This is a good topic jaja 

I feel like whenever we make anything, were the first audience, and i like to think that the best art is done for ourselves first, kinda like how you put on the respirator first on a plane before assisting anyone, lol, so yea to me it is still art if no one sees it, now or ever. 

It still happened, we experienced it, it's a part of the timeline, the universe, whatever.

@clartist.a: That’s so true too. I like that Javier !!

@art_serg: It's definitely food for thought. I am enjoying all of your different perspectives

@clartist.a: But I think there’s importance in having eyes on it and social media is great for that and online documentation, publications and getting your work in shows

Or even just sharing it with your friends like in this chat

@art_serg: For sure one of the reasons I chose the path of an artist is because I want to leave behind some sort of legacy. I'm gay I biologically can't have children but I still want a legacy. Maybe that's just my lizard brain talking but it's definitely one of the reasons I chose to be an artist.

@javier.hache.ruiz: If youre trying to✨make it✨ 

Ive met artist who dont sell, dont trade, it all literally is on display for them to see

@art_serg: Exactly.

The viewers give the art meaning. It's nothing of the only person who sees it is you. Once your gone they all be lost unless someone else finds them

@javier.hache.ruiz: I dont think so, 

Most people dont even know what art is, they can relate if anything, 

But theyre opinions should not put a definition or title on what the artist is making.

@artsy_mendoza: It’s all to much work mma just quit see y’all never🥸

@art_serg: Well I don't like giving title or meaning to piece. I leave it up to other people to figure it out. I feel like once you put a word it ties the piece down. I want it to be open up up discussion and discourse. I aim to evoke a reaction. Even if that reaction is just a smile

@javier.hache.ruiz: Exactly, so how can the audience label it as art or give it any meaning, the artist does that regardless, 

Most great artists are ahead of their time anyways, the audience never even stood a chance, it

Also makes art a forever thing because opinions on what is art are always changing, 

It can not be art right now but it will be in 50 years, and then itl die again and so on long after the artist is gone

@art_serg: But it also begs the question "what is art?" Like what do we define art. We took utilitarian objects. Things like vases, rugs, clothes and considered them art. What makes your art ART?

It is the question of "if a tree falls on a forest but no one around to hear it does it make a sound?" Ans what I'm getting at is "is art still art if their is no one to look at it?"

This includes you. If your no longer around to appreciate your art. Is it still art? Or thoughts lost in the ether

@javier.hache.ruiz: Lol exactlyyy, the art is defined by the maker not the audience, 

If the one who made the painting or pot or whatevz calls it art whether they sell it, use it as a blanket or burn, it is was, will be art lol

@art_serg: Interesting Interesting 🧐

@javier.hache.ruiz: Like personally me and my work, yess, already too many people know me to be making something, whether it be a mural, painting, ceramic, and if they know i make art✨then even just the memories and stories passed down are a representation of the art, nowadays it's very hard for things especially artistic ones to get lost in this ether, 

Already too much documentation, 

I mean if im gone tomorrow, im already letting yall know there's stacks of sketchbooks in my room, with work no one has ever seen, but yes it can be art when im gone, cuz i said so 😇

@art_serg: Agree to disagree Bob

😘

@javier.hache.ruiz: Lol 🥲

@art_serg: I love you too ♥

@j.castl: Lol I think for me this question begs another question. It comes down to asking myself why I choose to make art? For me, my art is my story. My art is first and foremost for me, to help me express myself, to tell my story, and to explore emotional moments in my life that get otherwise suppressed. Sure it’s nice to have people respond and relate to my art, that’s a perk, but it’s not what drives me. It’s hard to answer this question indefinitely, but I think the most truthful answer for me is that I honestly don’t see myself doing anything other than what I’m doing now. As cliche as it may sound, art is my purpose. It has helped me get through difficult times and it’s what keeps me going.

I’ve thought about this question so hard. That’s why I decided to share it on ig to see how other people would respond to it



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