I have said that art can preserve something important. This is an essay about how to create good art, but also a framework to discuss art beyond the banal “I know what I like.”
No one has, or ever will experience being human and alive right here, right now as you have, since no one has your experience, your perspective and your interpretations. You can communicate, not only the events of your life, but your emotional and aesthetic responses to those events. Not what you know, but what you feel and deeply understand.
So, how do you do that? How do you create art that is significant to the experience of being human?
Well, first, you have to be creating art. What is art? It is:
A conscious work,
Created with intention,
That communicates an aesthetic experience.
By “work,” I mean you are creating something. A mountain can be beautiful, but it is not a work of art. No one consciously created it. A photograph or a painting of that mountain can be a work of art, if it is created to communicate the aesthetic experience of the artist - “Look at how beautiful that mountain is! This is how the sight of it moved me.”
It is important, I think, to note that beauty is an aesthetic experience, but so is sorrow, horror, or any number of other reactions. When the artist creates the work to communicate any sort of profound reaction, it is art.
But...
There is the question of quality. What separates good art from bad art? Good art communicates a reaction that moves people, but the question is “what is that reaction worth? Does it improve our understanding?” You could record ten hours of being stuck in traffic with the intent of communicating and provoking deep frustration. That would be a work of art, but would it really add to your emotional experience of life and the human experience? Maybe, somewhat, but would it really be worth the effort to most of us?
And, of course, a work of art can fail to communicate effectively. There is such a thing as good or bad art, and a piece that speaks to one patron, but not another is certainly possible, even common.
Another question is one of creativity. How does the artist communicate the aesthetic experience? Is it provocative? Unusual, even unique? Does the way the artist move you allow you to see the experience in a novel or interesting way?
Further, we should consider skill and elegance. Skill is the ability of the artist to communicate, and the efficiency with which that art is created. If you have experienced minimalist classical music, you know that aesthetic effects can be elegantly created with a minimum of elements.
Keeping these things in mind will help you create effective art, but it will also give you a way of communicating about the art you experience that will create worthwhile discussions. Speaking of the profundity of an effect, skill, elegance and creativity will deepen the experience for you and others.
Now, go experience, or better still, create some art. If you do it well, and contemplate it with care and attention, you'll do many people some good.
I've always been afraid to create art. I was raised with an expectation of having to be "perfect." I was supposed to be quiet, to be a good student, to be an obedient child. Mistakes were not allowed. Challenging authority was punished. Feelings were not to be expressed, and if they were expressed, were ridiculed. I was told that every time I left the house, someone my parents knew would be where I went, and my behavior would be reported back to them. Watching eyes were everywhere. Thus, despite wanting to be creative my entire life, I'm still paralyzed ever time I think of trying. This goes for learning an instrument, painting, crocheting, drawing... I can't bring myself to even try. I've been given coloring books for relaxing, and I have yet to try to colore a single page. It's sad.