The Artistic Art of Aging Artistry

I had decided when I was 14 that I would dedicate myself to being a part of the performing arts. It was mainly because of this indie film I got from Red-box that made me realize that movies don't have to be blockbusters, and can touch people's hearts without being expensive or popular. Kind of like the difference between basic, typical store-bought pastries and rare sentimental pastries made from scratch. It was enough to inspire me to reach people in the theater, and big screens.

This was the art I chose to partake in. But of course, there are plenty of other arts to be a part of. But I realized something about these arts: they're only based on pop culture.



When doing monologues in my acting class, all of the pieces we had to pick from were either tragically about abuse and violence and family problems, or comedic pieces about humorous relationship fails and awkward situations. Maybe that's a good place to start, but I wish these generic excerpts were a bit more clever.

In the art hall at my school, they're being encouraged to draw/sketch/paint celebrities. There is a large painting of Trey Songz in our school media center. And I think that sounds crazier than it actually seems, but at least the student was so skillful that I was able to figure out it was Trey Songz from a distance. Still, Trey Songz is an R&B singer who active advocates adultery and terrible relationships, and there's a painting of him in our media center.

Even marching bands work weeks and weeks on learning the latest or most known pop songs to play at football games. I guess that makes sense and football games aren't the best of places to exercise your "creativity" muscle, but... wait. I don't even like football enough to debate what music bands should play during the games.

So to what degree is something considered art if it isn't 100% mentally inspired in some way? What makes someone a true artist? I always thought abstract art was the best because it always made people think about what they were looking at, since visual association could not be easily used in this situation. But I think as people get older, they're taught to make sense to society all the time.

There was this study on Brain Games (you either love that show, or hate it) where there was a picture with a red dot between two white lines, and the set of adults and children had to figure out what the picture was. The adults had basic answers (a red ball and two ropes and stuff like that), where the children really stretched their imaginations to figure out what the picture was. This shows that children (with their arts and crafts and such) have more vivid creativity glands than older people. But there's a gap between being a child and an adult. My question: what fills this gap? The answer may just be life.

Life makes us conform to the understanding of the masses so we can be appreciated. Which is why paintings of Trey Songz and Will Smith (yes, he's in the media center too) are positioned in places for everyone to see. I barely ever see anything remotely unique or abstract in my school. The most abstract work of art there is are these pictures of fruits and vegetables in baskets I saw hanging on the walls. They had exquisite detail and the onions almost looked real. I think they were meant to represent the medley of people you'll meet in this cornucopia we call life. Yeah, that's it.

But there are people who are just as creative as they probably were in their childhood. Maybe the only thing that changed for them was their heightened level of sophistication in their craft. That's where the real artists come in. Or even if they take a piece that seems simple, and apply existential meaning to it (like a dot on paper being the 0th dimension, or the dot in the middle of the sun enlarged for your viewing, or the eye... of the beholder), it shows they're putting a lot of thought into what they do to show the world what's inside their heart.

I believe that nowadays people try their best to make ideas seem as practical as possible, which is all that public schools try to promote. Even in my history class whenever we do current events, no one ever tries to come up with ideas to make everyone happy. There's always got to be that one person that basically lets you know your idea is crazy. Society runs off of ostracizing eccentric mindsets for the benefit of individuals' entertainment. In other words, if someone is weird, average people laugh at them. No sense of curiosity and admiration in extraordinary minds whatsoever. Just simple-minded discrimination.

People will tell you that you're weird every single day for the rest of your life. They may even say, "you're crazy," or "you need help," or "did you take your medicine this morning?" Bottom line is, you're around the wrong people. Iron is supposed to sharpen iron, and anyone who addresses you this way is more of a liquid that rusts your iron. Not to mention, odds are, these people won't be going the same route in life as you. Eventually, you will be in the same environment as people who will build you up to be who you want to be.

Recognize that there's a better world of artists just like you, waiting for your roads to intersect. And when I say artists, I don't just mean painters and musicians and thespians and such. If you listen to particular types of music, only like to cook certain foods, have an expertise in makeup, or have a passion for criticizing sports or TV shows, you're an artist. Everyone has a passion, and that passion is your art. Use it to dream and make you happy. Because that's what you want. And that's what matters.