by m. (@migsmosuela)

visuals by LDR (@lisadelarosa)

It’s a crazy world we live in, with crazy people keeping an eye out for crazy art. The way we live in this world is awesome, if you think about it: we’re surrounded in creation! Yeah, we could talk about nature in that manner of creation, but it’s worth noting that we are surrounded by our own creations, too – architecture, furniture, food, clothing, design, living conditions, et cetera. Our minds are capable of shaping the condition of our environment, and we can create out of the same environment.

Some would argue that this is art, and I would agree.

You could even throw in the thought that we’re crazy enough to pursue art because it makes sense, it reflects the culture, and it’s important.

I agree with the points I’ve presented, but caveats present themselves along with those facts. Something along the lines of this question: “If art makes sense, reflects culture, and is important, then why does art not make sense for everybody? Why does it not represent a person completely? Why is it valueless to some?”

Yeah, those kinds of questions keep me from sleeping at night, too. But instead of dismissing them with thoughts like “it’s just what it is,” I try to surmise and gnaw at it.

And after nights of thoughts and unnerving silence, I have it… and at the same time I don’t.

I’ve arrived at the thought that it must be because of how we look at art – and how we consume it.

I think that in order to understand art for what it is, we need to understand what it is to us, first. We could arrive at different subjective definitions of what it is. It’s kind of wrong, if we’re trying to textbook define it to the T. But we don’t need that: we need a common point where we can understand each other and our views of what art is.

The real work, I believe, starts here.

From there, we can slowly work towards seeing how we consume art – and who you are, as they say, is what you “eat.” If we think that art is “impractical” and “only for a vain aesthetic”, then you could only see art as that. But if we believe that the very source of our own creativity is the reason we have the craving to create, then you’d see it that way.

The thing about consuming something is not the issue of consumption itself, but the perception of what you think of what you consume.

Or at least, that’s what I think.

Knowing that this could solve my question about this whole thing, as convoluted and confusing as everything sounds, it will bring us closer to what it is.

People use art to vent. To escape. To change the world. To express. To help. To say something. To be heard. To survive. To do “their own thing.”

A lot of people do art for a lot of reasons. And maybe – just maybe – there’s more to art than our intention for it. There’s a reason why we’re born crazy in a crazy world… and God knows why our creativity has such depths.

One thing’s for sure, though: creating our way through this would lead us to an answer.

To cap it off, I just want to live you with this: y’all know it’s just my opinion, right?