the small print
Kevin's thoughts, edited for typos and length. I'm like that.Some people follow a path blindly 'cause it is already paved nicely. It's the path traveled by many before us and it tempts us with promises of a degree and thus a career and/or life. But what sort of journey is that? We are not all meant to walk the same path. Some of us make our own. And for those who do...you arrive at a place where no one's path even comes close. Your Eden.
I met two artists at York. Jeff (Film) and Adam (Fine Arts) and on behalf of them and myself I would like to address the non-FA kids who piss us off with their ignorance.
Okay...maybe I don't know about most FA kids, but I sure feel this way: I hardly think higher learning involves things such as the pursuit of economical gain and learning about anatomy. Although I totally respect these fields for what they do for humanity...I feel that a true contribution to humanity is on the plane of mind expansion, philosophical teachings and both micro and macroanalytical studies of both self and society. IT IS THE ARTS that make the world go round.
I wish I was more into writing. 'Cause if I was, I may be able to communicate this better. But I am a production's wannabe. Talk to Jeff, he'll tell you.
All I can say is, I think artists make the world a more interesting place. More so, than any politician, scientist or economist. Have a little more respect for us. We invest more than our time and money. We invest our mind, body and soul. We put it out on the line...we give and give and give in the hopes that we may have the chance to GIVE even more. Stress? We may not stress about exams like some fields of study...but try talking to us around March and April.
I will end with some ambiguous, hopelessly elusive comment: If the world ended tomorrow...and we needed to send someone into space...to escape the end of the world...we would send an artist.
True indeed. So as I'm sat here in front of textbooks full of numbers, in a room adorned with artwork and a desk littered with cameras, photos, drawings, journals, sketches, contemplating too many futures at once and fighting daily battles with my psyche, on a continent that seems to be a black hole for art and culture, I have to wonder what this all makes me, and makes those around me. What happens if you're both an artist and a scientist and you're eternally plagued by the conflict between the two? Don't tell me that there's a happy medium - there isn't one. I haven't yet met someone with the same problems. Those who claim they do have no idea how silly they look, proclaiming to be 'artists' (I suppose that if you're a bad artist, you're still an artist nonetheless, and I reckon that we all pursue what we each believe to be 'artistic perfection', but that doesn't make me respect you more). Stop pretending. Stop saying vaguely that you 'know how it feels'. To indulge your fantasies of 'knowing how it feels' I simply do what I always do in situations in which I completely disagree, but you're too dense to know it.
Weak smile. Nod. Silence.
I am a scientist with an artist's mind and temperament. Don't try to be me. Those who claim to 'know' me will be shocked to discover how much they have yet to learn. Don't try to understand me. You never will.
L'Esthete @ 14:12
