Hello my friends! Hope you are all having a splendid Sunday! Here in Valencia we eat paella on Sundays at dinner time (2:00 pm) in the sidewalk cafes, bars and restaurants of our city, hope you enjoy your Sunday tradition as well.
I just wanted to touch a point on art, poetry and the creative process of writing or painting. Of course it applies to all the arts as well.
I learned in Art School at uni that «raw emotion is not art», and I liked the idea. It took me a while but I understood that what I read, what I watch, what I observe in a painting or in a ballet, is not a slice of life, or a fraction of reality. It is something invented, contrived, manipulated, polished, touched-up, rehearsed and made ready as art. Art is rehearsed, planned, prepared. Emotions are not. That is why artists manipulate emotions.
I do not write about myself, my life, my friends, my relationships or my emotions. I may dive deep into the resources of my memory to pick out certain things that may have caused me laughter, pain, sorrow or joy and then begin to work on them artistically. That is why I am adamant about saying that art is not spontaneous nor intuitive. Art is crafted, thought about, created, yes, from something, but into something else.
What do you think? What are your theories? Does this differ from what you were taught at uni, or in the great uni of life? Let me know.
Cheers…
JaZzArt en València 
I’ve never thought of it that way. I agree though.
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Glad to hear that. Thank you so much! All the best.
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this is a new way of looking at it for me –
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Yes, it is an opinion, there are no absolutes in art, thank God!
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No sabría decir si en el proceso creativo interviene la emoción. Algo yo creo que sí. Ahora bien de lo que sí estoy segura es de que el arte tiene que despertar emoción.
Un arte plano, que no emociona, para mí, será otra cosa, pero no arte.
Bonito domingo. Y a disfrutar de la paella.
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Gracias, y la paella…la primera en cuatro meses…estaba muy buena! Si, el arte tiene que despertar emociones, sin duda. Las emociones que despierta son reales, crudas, humanas, pero para hacerlo, hay que crearlas, pulirlas, desarrollarlas y prepararlas artísticamente para que sean eso mismo en el observador.
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It is doubtful but my «art» (which many have not seem) draws very much from my experience and from observation. Plot’s soul is usually a flight of fancy, but the bones of a story are experiential, emotional. I concede (finally) to your insistence that there are no artists without education in their mediums. I hold in reserve that some artists are naturally inclined, diamonds waiting to be cleaved and polished. And I take issue (offense, actually) that art is not life; I fancy my art, deeply rooted in life, explains and questions life in laying it naked, bound with moral or not. A right thoughtful entry to your diary.
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Do not take offence, I am not saying that an artist requires a «formal» education, but an education nevertheless is essential. The best, perhaps is gained at the uni of Life where one learns practical aspects of art without the danger of being «moulded» by professors slanted one way or another (usually communists). And reference art being life, well…
I have to say that life can be something artistic at times, but art is a creation by a human from pieces and parts (perhaps of life or of the natural world) of other items, i.e. paint, graphite, ink, stone, marble, brass et cetera, and creating something that previously was non-existent. What I was referring to was that the emotions generated by an artist, be it an actor, a dancer, a poet or a painter, is not a true emotion. It causes a true emotional response, like a stimuli, but the actor, et al, is not feeling it, he is imitating it, or lying. Actors are liars in that sense, and so are we all when we create art that makes others feel an emotional response, because we didn’t experience it, we crafted it, polished it, made it artistically palatable to others. Thank you Espie, I truly learn from your replies and greatly appreciate your participation in these dialogues. Have a grand Sunday afternoon.
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You as well. This discussion will never rest on a flat surface. It requires perhaps several bottles of good wine while discussion whether or not life and art are (good or bad) imitations one of the other, whether or not the artist speaks nothing but truth or is an inveterate liar continues. The weekend draws to an end. Trust it has been rewarding and pleasant for you.
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Truly rewarding. There is nothing more rewarding than a good discussion, even if it is without wine and through long distance. Life and art will continue, and so will we continue to theorise…although some may say we’re just bullshitting…and to create. All the best to you and a great week ahead! All the best my friend and truly thank you for the mental excercises!
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Abundando en lo que he comentado en la versión en castellano del post, por mucho que la obra artística no sea siempre representativa de la realidad personal de quien la realiza, quedan en ella, inevitablemente, pequeños rastros de lo que el autor/autora es en esencia, el marchamo del que se pueden extraer pequeños apuntes para descifrar la personalidad del autor o autora. Son rastros involuntarios que quizás sean imperceptibles cuando se accede a una, dos o tres producciones de la misma persona, pero cuando se tiene una perspectiva ampliada de varias obras, a nada que se rasque, asoman.
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Tienes razón, siempre se busca dentro del haber personal para crear y como concluyes, es verdad a muchos autores se le notan rasgos de la personalidad cua do uno lee varias de sus obras. Gracias y un saludo.
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As a literary artist, I fully agree with you. Raw, unfiltered emotions are tapped to create the context of the words I write. I find phrases and imagery and metaphor within those raw emotions that become blended into a poem. But the poem is not raw emotion. It is polished, practiced, crafted, edited, and re-written may times before it ever becomes anything akin to art.
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Exactly. After all, the outcome has to be «art» not just «life» and there is a BIG difference, which you have just very clearly and succinctly expressed. This was another reply that WP sent to spam. So sorry my friend!
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Yes sir, I agree with you. Pic is amazing.
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Thank you Sir, very much!
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Our raw emotions or feelings may trigger us to create, and I agree with you, art is a careful and thoughtful process. It may arrive at a place that is even surprising to the artist.
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Very good points Cassa. Thank you 😊
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As somebody who never went to University, and didn’t ever stand a chance, my observations are purely from the University of Life Francesc, but your observations on art have taught me loads 😊
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Thank you Malc. Nowadays I am actually afraid of the opinions students get at uni. It’s hard to get a real over all and open minded education unless one gains it at uni of life! Good point Malc. Thank you.
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That’s exactly how I feel Francesc. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday 🙂
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The more I attempt to be a good writer, the more I find there is much more for me to learn about the craft. It’s amazing how many people think a novel can be written in the same amount of time it takes them to read it. Talent will take a person just so far. Nothing worthwhile comes easily. It’s all hard work.
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No, you are right Janet. Talent is something developed through the work we do, but knowledge of the craft is what really creates art, be it a novel, a poem or a painting (or anything artistic). To study the craft is to become an artist. Good points and thank you so much. WP had hidden your reply from me but I found it.
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completely agree, and much appreciation for the arts: emotion is emotion–what we do with that emotion to convey a perception is the art of any craft.
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You have said it splendidly well. That is the essence of emotion turned to art. The artist, be it an actor, a dancer or any other, creates the emotional response and applies it to his character, to his dance, to his painting et cetera. Thank you so much. WP had hidden your reply and thankfully I found it.
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