–WHY do some people love art and others seem unmoved by it? I'm always interested in the reaction of people who visit our home. Our living room has art hanging from floor to ceiling. Some people don't even notice–which always intrigues us since our collection (which includes an original work by Carl Bloch) is such a prominent part of the room.
I've always assumed that with enough persuasion nearly anyone could be convinced that life with art would be superior to one devoid of art (read my five reasons to collect art here). Despite straining my persuasive abilities to the limit I don't think I've persuaded anyone to collect art. It seems that needle is very difficult, if not impossible, to move.
I recently stumbled across a fascinating video about Creativity from an artistic and psychological perspective. The ideas presented were compelling and explained some of the reason that art appeals to some and not others. I do believe that creativity expresses itself in a broad spectrum. A neighbor had an incredible gift for fixing engines. The friend who built my studio had a remarkable gift for solving building problems as well as reaching an aesthetic mark with a limited budget.
So I know that creativity can manifest itself in a variety of ways. The following video of an interview with Jordan Peterson, makes many points, such as; if you genuinely like art you are probably creative. Or; art embodies tremendous beauty and continued revelation. As well as; people are terrified of art because it speaks of the ultimate depths. And my favorite, art is exploration. (Watch the video here. Note that the audio improves at 1 minute.)
Additionally, Jordan Peterson mentions a book, Genius, by Hans Eysenck, about the nature of the creative personality that promises to be worth reading (Deb, if you are reading this post this would make a great Christmas present!)
I will continue to be an advocate for art while Understanding the limitations of such efforts. I hope you enjoy the video as much as I did.
Brad Teare –May 2018
Above: Grand Canal, 24" x 24", (sold).
