What Kind of Art Makes You Glad to Be Alive?

What kind of art makes you glad to be alive?

I don't necessarily mean the work you think is important, the artists you're supposed to admire or the exhibitions everybody's talking about. I'm interested in the work that gets under your skin. The things you find yourself thinking about years after you've encountered them. The things that make you feel more curious about being in the world.

And I wonder how often, as artists, we give ourselves permission to think about that.

Last week, I was talking about the moment when research becomes art. I was asking what happens when all the information you've gathered, the things you've discovered and the ideas you've explored undergo some kind of transformation through your particular way of seeing.

This week, I want to explore where that way of seeing might come from.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Your enthusiasm can tell you things that your intellectual understanding hasn't quite caught up with. When a piece of art or something else prompts a strong reaction in you, take note of why it interests you, what makes you laugh, ask questions, relaxes you or even what makes you feel uncomfortable.

 If you're continually editing your interests according to what you think other people will approve of, you can lose touch with the things that made you excited about making art in the first place.

Seeing someone else's work and feeling a little pang of envy can be revealing, not because of their success, but because they've made something you wish you'd had the courage to make.

Gather ten artworks that make you feel glad to be alive and identify the recurring qualities. Use those insights to see if there are qualities you admire in others' work that you haven't given yourself permission to explore in your own studio.

BEST MOMENTS

"When I ask them what they find exciting about somebody's work, sometimes they struggle."