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Art: To impress or express?

Writing is an art, and since this decision has been taken, I would like to solemnly stand by it. Art is most commonly defined as the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination. As fancy as that might sound, art is basically an expression of thoughts and ideas… or is it? Do we use art to express or to impress? This question has bothered me since the Big Bang and as I look back to all my artistic endeavors, I realize that it has been a blend of both.

Being an entrenched musician, who specializes in Classical Vocal and dabbles a bit in piano, drums and light vocals; an occasional poet and writer, and an even more rare artist and dancer; I realized that the intent of the artwork depended on the occasion. Sometimes the artwork was made to impress and sometimes it was made to express. A bit more retrospection on my side, on this topic led me to the conclusion that most of my artworks, be it a musical performance, vocal piece, poetry, story writing, or painting, was mostly made with the intent to impress.

The main reason behind this is very simple in my case, that is, the fear of rejection and the fear of failure; fear of rejection being more. What if people didn’t like my expression, or what if they misinterpret it, or what if nobody acknowledges my artwork? My existence is grounded on my passion for any and all forms of art. If people did not acknowledge and appreciate my art, then my entire existence is being questioned.

Such self-doubting questions has not only haunted me, but millions of young, aspiring people who dream to gain the acknowledgement for their existence, maybe even you! Every time we dare to make an artwork with the intent to express, they are repelled by their fears and uncertainties, and this world loses an expressive creator. We indulge and fully emerge themselves into creating art to impress, without realizing that what impresses the perceives may not be unique to us, and it might not allow us to progress in our field of art. We are becoming competitors; not contributors.

Though these fears have ruled me for long, my desire to express my thoughts, opinions and ideas has eventually made its way to the forefront, despite my insecurities. That’s what planted the first seeds of this blog. I have realized that the maintenance of a blog requires a lot of commitment and comes with various types of hurdles and obstacles. I am ready to face and overcome any type of hurdle or obstacle that might come in my way during this journey, but the hurdle which I am the most fearful of is the hurdle of people’s rejection of my perspective.
People tend to dismiss our generation as young and reckless. Yes, I am young and yes again, I am reckless. But, that does not mean I cannot express myself. I might be right; I might be wrong; all I ask for is a chance: a chance to express myself; a chance to speak out my mind; and a chance to be heard.

Comments

  1. "To reveal art and conceal art is the artist's aim" told by Oscar Wilde in the book 'The picture of Dorian Grey's(check it out!) As an artist (I hesitate to call myself one..) what you've written is completely relatable! To be acknowledged and accepted is one of my biggest wishes. But as time goes by I realised that...the art pieces I create become a piece of who i am..if I don't acknowledge and accept it..who will? That saying..I should go and complete a piece now�� Keep writing!!! Love your works!

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