I had a few days of annual leave from my 9 to 5 this week. With this time I managed to make a few skins in preparation for bigger paintings and to help finish the smaller pieces.
I managed to meet up with old friends for lunches and suppers. It was at these events where I later became struck at how much my social world influences or at least threatens to shape what I do with my art.
Cultural references
Next follows what friends and colleagues think I ought to be doing.
What friends said they think I should do (from chats this week)
- To work more with the fashion industry with developing and detoxifying organisation cultures
- To help small start ups and successful brand sensitive sectors with their spaces or even treatment room or customer interaction space decor
- To do something amazing in the beauty and cosmetic world using my L&D expertise
Now looking at those statements from friends in the cold light of day without our cocktail 🍹glasses in hand helps me to see the same pattern I saw earlier on in the week with the Pearly Queen’s outfit in making the outsider’s art and culture piece work.
My art is expected to perform rather than just be. My art might not be deemed valuable if it doesn’t serve the economic or social system. But because I am noticing these tensions and dynamics in the system this is indeed a development. This meta analysis of mine helps me understand how and why I originally arrived at creating artworks so that I can reject it.
It is true that now I’ve reflected I think 🤔 I can feel empowered to exorcise those old thoughts around the performativity of the artwork I create. I can now allow my art to be free to just be.
Therefore my art doesn’t have to look great in your home office backdrop scene it can just be.
