Paintings by Zayasaikhan Sambuu, otherwise known as Zaya, Mongolian artist and former Buddhist monk.
Found
Earlier this year, I was asked to write a manifesto, and set my beliefs about poetry to paper. Would you be surprised to hear that I don’t believe in much? I should explain. I am in a perpetual state of war with universals. Grand, sweeping statements are…
My final year as an undergraduate student is over halfway through, and, as such, my mind is preoccupied by change, both big and small. This channel has seen many changes as well, slowly shifting as time has passed it by. One such change is the gradual shift from unknown and obscure sources of art I find on the internet towards more established, historical artists. Although I do somewhat worry that that takes away from the "found" theme of this channel somewhat, I've become more and more conscientious about being able to cite my sources, something that's often times nearly impossible in the places I search for such content.
But that's not really what I want to talk to you about, not directly, at least. I've said a lot about innocence and freshness of vision in my previous annual postings, but what happens to us when we lose sight of that uniqueness of perspective? We all age, we all get swept up in the wider currents of all our cultural collective, and the ideas of others, must, ultimately, influence us somehow. No one stays in the shadows forever, especially not someone who lives in the world of art. Art is language and language is yearning, the desire to speak in a way that others might understand. I don't believe, however, that the distance between two people can ever be totally bridged. There is a way in which we, as artists and art consumers, must circle around meaning in order to make it, to speak through the obscureness of tone, atmosphere and aesthetic in order to communicate with others fully— or, at least, as fully as we can.
So what do I mean when I say these things? I tell you that art is, in essence, communication and, as in all communication, your ideas become shaped by those of others and become less wholly unique. I tell you that, despite this, the process of communication can never be totally successful. Am I being pessimistic? No, I am talking about community. We as human beings are, whether we choose to admit it or not, defined by the community (or lack thereof) we find ourselves in, and when we reach out, we must, by necessity, take back something in return. This is the beautiful web of human interaction, this is the source of so much of our growth. We find in others what cannot be found in ourselves, and in turn we give them a small sliver of the secret worlds we find ourselves in. This exchange is constant and ongoing. We all give, we all receive. Just make sure you take care of what you find.
But that's not really what I want to talk to you about, not directly, at least. I've said a lot about innocence and freshness of vision in my previous annual postings, but what happens to us when we lose sight of that uniqueness of perspective? We all age, we all get swept up in the wider currents of all our cultural collective, and the ideas of others, must, ultimately, influence us somehow. No one stays in the shadows forever, especially not someone who lives in the world of art. Art is language and language is yearning, the desire to speak in a way that others might understand. I don't believe, however, that the distance between two people can ever be totally bridged. There is a way in which we, as artists and art consumers, must circle around meaning in order to make it, to speak through the obscureness of tone, atmosphere and aesthetic in order to communicate with others fully— or, at least, as fully as we can.
So what do I mean when I say these things? I tell you that art is, in essence, communication and, as in all communication, your ideas become shaped by those of others and become less wholly unique. I tell you that, despite this, the process of communication can never be totally successful. Am I being pessimistic? No, I am talking about community. We as human beings are, whether we choose to admit it or not, defined by the community (or lack thereof) we find ourselves in, and when we reach out, we must, by necessity, take back something in return. This is the beautiful web of human interaction, this is the source of so much of our growth. We find in others what cannot be found in ourselves, and in turn we give them a small sliver of the secret worlds we find ourselves in. This exchange is constant and ongoing. We all give, we all receive. Just make sure you take care of what you find.