art.

it's important because it is what makes life worth living. you should care because it's the record that we will leave behind. it is a symbol. of us. of what we thought was important. of the people we praised. the values we embraced. it should not be forgotten or dismissed as frivolous or arbitrary. our ability to express is central to our human nature. without it, we are machines. animals. there are emotions tied up inside each of us that can't be loosened by a nutritious meal or penicillin. you can live a whole lifetime with perfect health and a steady job but no matter what you do, you may never feel alive. you can exist, but you will never be alive unless you have the ability to loosen your soul. unless you have a song to hear, a brushstroke to make, a ear to listen, a tongue to speak, an eye to read, a heart to see.
those paintings on the wall are not collections of pigment. they are a visual record of ideas, beliefs and emotions. they are human life and experience and spirit in a tangible form. they are not always supposed to click with the logic in your brain. they are supposed to enter your heart. their purpose is to stir you to feel things that you have absolutely no words for, things i cannot explain. the gallery is a spiritual communication between human beings without the barriers of words and bodies. it is a place to understand and to feel understood.
it is the only earthly thing with enough power to cross every boundary.
that is why there is a geometric statue in the middle of the grass over there. that is why there is a pile of hay in the hfac.
they are not objects. they are what the people we call artists use to make all the floaty stuff, all that emotion and pain and joy and idea and passion, into something real. they represent far more than a shaped piece of metal; a placement of material. they are the culmination of a life of observation and research on humanity. they represent a career. this is a life work. this is important.
and maybe the reasons why this is important are not communicated very well or even at all. give us a little slack, here, the reason they are artists is because they speak without words.
but just wait, i will change that. i will be the liaison between the heart and the brain. i'm working on it now. i used to only be good at heart-talk. read the early blog posts--i couldn't communicate with words. i've improved. i have developed a talent through this blog and other avenues to connect hearts and minds with a few words. that's a special gift, and i'm going to use it so i can connect the art and the hearts to an understanding, and i will do that through words and an effective communication of ideas. until it's really changed, have a little faith. have a little faith in me when i tell you there is meaning and significance there. have a little faith in beauty, in the people who make art, in your ability to understand through your heart. have a little faith in ideas and stop relying solely on technique.
have a little faith in art, have some in me,
and one day i'll make sure you have the tools to understand, if you choose to do so.