Monday, October 20, 2008

Putting Your Heart into It


How does a person tell if an artist has put his or her heart into a work of art? There are ways to objectify "heart" in art. Asian cultures use this as one of the defining ways to evaluate art. Art is not math and was never meant to be. If my art class were a "math" class I could simply measure out proportions on the drawing and compare these with the thing they were trying to draw. It would be either right or wrong. I believe this issue of heart is of primary importance. There are ways to look at the "heart" one puts in one's work. Some of the things I look at in art to discern the artist's heart is the amount of expression put in the work, also, the amount of time spent on the work. The thing I am most passionate about is the thing on which I will spend the most time. I have had much experience at making art and in looking at other people's work and I feel I am pretty perceptive in knowing how much time is spent on a work of art. My work does not lie, it will tell me and others if I was lazy with it or if I rushed it to completion. Also, one can compare this issue of heart to love. If I am in love with someone I will serve that person, spend time with that person, I will take risks for that person. Art that is safe and doesn't take risks shows there is not much heart in it. Also, I can look at process (sketches, research, studies, etc...) and tell if I am putting my heart into my work. What are your thoughts? What are some ways to objectively look at art and tell weather or not the artist put his/her heart into it?

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