Defining The Purpose Of Creative Art

What is the purpose of Creative Art? Creatives serve as a communication to bridge emotionally what words cannot always say.

It is for this reason that every artist work can be so unique from one another.  The creation is as unique as each individual is also different and unique.

Answering this question requires more than a clinical answer to the purpose of art.  It is true that art serves to capture history and society like an image within time.

Archeology itself has at times determined periods of ancient cultures based upon the art they found.  Is what was discovered a true synopsis of that culture, or the vision and emotion of the artist?

It becomes too easy to classify and create labels as humans.  We enjoy placing things in their proper box.  Despite this tendency, it is impossible to classify or quantify art creatives in this way.

Art Competitions Fail To Quantify Creatives

Art competitions have existed for as long as we can track history.  The origin of the Salon des Refusés in Paris was born from this mindset. Monet experienced this personally.

What was accepted as “art” and what was not came to a crossroads.  Napoleon III created a venue for creatives which were of the refused.

In this time if you were not one of the accepted artists then you had no way to be broadly recognized.  The process was very political and in favor of thinking dictated by the establishment.

Art creatives today still find this kind of opposition.  An art competition cannot quantify the art.  Art is not an achievement like a sport that can be won.

This failure is due to a lack in understanding the language of art.

What Is The Language Of Art?

Art does have its own language.  This language is emotion.  It can be expressed through a visual capacity to another individual.

The interesting aspect of this language is that how an individual may see this art can impact them emotionally in a different way. 

While the subject matter of the art may deliver the message, the emotion it generates will be from that individual’s perspective and experiences.

It is this element that breaks any idea of competition.  Art creatives will impress upon each individual differently. 

There is no winner when this is understood.  Rather there are only different points of view and emotions which drive the subject.

What Do Artists Really Compete Against?

I have detailed many issues surrounding the competitive nature of artists.  How they can compete against one another within life can at times be shocking.

Ultimately the only competition which an artist must face each and every day is themselves.  It is in how they grow and push to become better as an artist and as an individual.

These two components are directly linked to each other.  They cannot be separated.

We can become our own worst enemy in how we perceive the world around us, and in how we perceive ourselves. 

To achieve success requires more than being good within our creative process or an artists business plan.

Who Should Artists Create For?

Any creative should be focused on expressing those emotions from within ourselves.  There is the key in our ability to connect with others visually.

Here is where commission artists fail to capture life within their art.  Rather their work can too often become regimented and only mirror what they are given as an image in pure realism.

Certainly an artist wishes for their work to be appreciated and recognized by those within the public.  Gaining recognition from an institution can also be an exhilarating thing.

Despite this we should work to express for ourselves.  Why? While we cannot understand or feel another’s emotion, we can understand and do feel our own.

A creative that is expressed in this way is pure, at times raw, and others can relate to this emotion readily.  If an individual does not connect with that creation, then it is not for them.

The Pressure And Expectations An Artist Can Face

Artists can be known for creating undo pressure and expectations upon ourselves.  If we add to this a competitive nature by design of a showing or gallery, the anxiety can be amplified.

Producing results for corporate benefit has its own pressures when among your peers.  Standing out is required to obtain success and maintaining your position with a company.

Likewise when an artist competes against corporate brands the pressure can be overwhelming.

At this point the expectation fully dictates the outcome.  The result of the art is driven by how well that expectation is articulated by a client.

While this is living in the real world of art, it is not our optimal comfort zone as a creative.  The strain and stress can impact our work and our personal well being.

It is for this reason that every artist should always create for ourselves, even if our job requires us to create purely for others.  What we create becomes an outlet to remain connected to our roots and who we are.

Each artist should have their own creative platform to display their work to the world. Too many overlook this kind of connection to the outside world.

If we allow this to be cut off we then lose our source of inspiration and emotion.  We must maintain that spark in being able to define ourselves for what we are.

Within Art, Winning Is Not Success

Winning an art competition cannot define your success.  Being displayed within an exclusive gallery also is not success.  Obtaining the highest sale again is not success.

Success can be defined in many ways by each artist.  Despite how we can create these definitions the root for what is success can be found in the same place.

Success will ultimately be defined by how well we communicate through our creative process.  The art we give in this world should speak through emotion what cannot be said any other way.

The life we live in pursuit of success should also be defined by the character we hold.  No level of success as an artist can be achieved without character.

The artistic life is a journey which one never fully arrives at a destination.  Creatives are on this journey for the experiences we share, what we learn, and what we can give.

Monetary success comes as a result of these elements.  It is doing the right thing with the right character along this journey that an artist discovers monetary success.

While Creatives Express Emotion, We Must Discipline Them

Unrestrained emotion can be a very bad thing.  It is easy for emotion of this kind to become toxic.  Art is no different than life when it comes to this principle.

We must learn to discipline our emotions.  We may not feel like getting up to create, or we may feel like we want to lash out, but we must maintain character.

Shaping our emotions is not about being controlled.  Rather it is about growing and becoming better.  Opposition will come.  How we grow in spite of, or as a result of opposition, will determine how successful we are.

While we must each seek to be who we are, it must be within the virtues of character and moral right.  Here is where the real competitive nature of art exists.

It is the artists ability to shape their life in the face our ourselves that we define who we really are.