[2021-03-13] Art
I often make reference to art in my posts without necessarily defining what art means. My definition comes from Seth Godin, a marketing expert, blogger and prolific author. He writes in his book Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?:
Art isn't only a painting. Art is anything that's creative, passionate, and personal. And great art resonates with the viewer, not only with the creator.
In fact, art doesn't merely resonate with the viewer, it changes them, says Godin:
Art is a personal gift that changes the recipient. An artist is an individual who creates art. The more people you change, the more you change them, the more effective your art is.... If there is no change, there is no art. If no one experiences it, there can be no change.
Sometimes, suggests Godin, artists focus on producing art strictly for themselves, but:
Most of us, though, most of the time, make our art for an audience. We want to change someone else. We're seeking to make them happier, or more engaged, or a customer.
The best art grabs us, makes us feel something different from what we felt moments before, settles into our brain and refuses to leave. It's the thing we enjoy, savour and come back to. It's the thing we talk about, share, research to find more of the same.
I see this blog as art: something I create not expressly to change me—though it does do that—but to change others. If I were merely recounting details of my health, such as test results, updates from appointments, and reports on various side effects, I would keep readers informed, but not enlightened, moved or inspired. The latter goal is what keeps me coming back to my computer day after day with the aim of creating something of value.
Godin argues that an essential element of art is that it's a gift. In reference to his own blog, Godin says:
I don't write my blog to get anything from you in exchange. I write it because giving my small gift to the community in the form of writing makes me feel good. I enjoy it that you enjoy it. When that gift comes back to me, one day, in an unexpected way, I enjoy the work I did twice as much.
In my case, I write this blog not only to make you aware of ovarian cancer, but also to take you on a journey with me so that you might see behind the curtain. I share what enlightens, moves and inspires me in the hopes that these things might have similar effects on you. And I pass on what I have learned and what I believe to be true to both leave a legacy and make others' lives easier.
Many people create art, though not everyone may recognize it as such. When Sofia, the little girl who lives next to me, knitted me a scarf because I have cancer, she created art—something given freely with no expectation of anything in return and something that changed me. Every time I look at that scarf, I am reminded that she cares about me and that many other people do as well.
Your art might be the produce you grow in your garden and give to someone to make them feel loved, the song you record and share to lift someone's spirits, the jewelry you create to make someone feel beautiful, the food you cook to nourish someone's body and soul, the story you write to let someone know they are appreciated, the perfect book you select to brighten someone's day.
Celebrate the art that you are already putting out into the world, make time for the art that's in your heart and begging to be expressed, and appreciate the art that is all around you and changing you for the better.
