It’s worth taking a moment to look at how we talk about our feelings today. I think the current model is flawed, and art is partially to blame, but this can be fixed.
For feelings that are hard to deal with, we have therapists and hotlines, but, why? Why are discussions about feelings something that gets kicked into a secret room, or a confidential phone line? Don’t talk about your feelings in public. We also have art museums and sacred spaces for art. Don’t touch the art.
We try so hard to contain them, but every now and then, art and feelings break free.
Like when song perfectly expresses our feelings, or when we take a perfect photo.
I’d argue not for museums or Art Therapy, or even Art Appreciation, but Art Integration. Integrating art into your life consistently, like good diet and exercise, will bring feelings forward in as they exist, not after, and not always in crisis. Buying a piece of art that makes you happy, or making a piece of art that sings to you, is probably one of the healthiest things you can do.
The point of museums and seeing art isn’t to feel special or fancy, it’s to develop self-expression and self-knowing in an expansive way.
Bring art into your life, see it, or practice it, and you will uncover life's mysteries beyond your wildest imagination.
Related Blogs:
It’s Good if Art Seems Pointless
Who wrote this:
I’m a painter, I make comics, and sometimes I do computer stuff!
- Becky Jewell