Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Thank you to all the artists out there

Artists inspire me. Yeah, you say, that's why they're artists, and isn't that what art is supposed to do? But think about it -- there is so much in life that saps our energy, makes us drudge through the day, uninspires us, as it were. And there are so many people out there that call themselves artists that to me aren't; they're just off-putting people into self-promotion and all that comes with being an (phonetic spelling) arteest.

I'm not discussing any of those people. I'm talking about the true worker bees out there, buzzing away in their respective mediums, producing stuff that makes us stop, look, and suddenly see something in a different way. Like the day, gray and wearing thin after a long 6 hours touring the sights of Nashville. When I walked into the Frist Center for Visual Arts, thinking more about sitting down than walking around. But then, there is was (and this was besides the exhibit featuring Man Ray), one of my favorite Georgia O'Keefe paintings. It wasn't the flowers or skulls or bold landscapes -- it was the side of an adobe wall with one little window and the clear blue sky beyond.

I'd never seen it in person, had forgotten that it had already stopped me before, somewhere in some book, but here is was, reminding me of bright afternoon sunlight on a back porch somewhere in New Mexico that I had never visited but returned to me like a memory strong enough to make my eyes water. And although that piece itself inspired me, yes, it was the idea that in that scene the artist had seen the worthiness, the place, the button to flip our perspective into a new angle.

I am a lucky woman. Part of my paying job is to visit artists, usually in their environment, and talk to them about what they do, what inspires them, where they see themselves headed next. Though not as famous as O'Keefe, here are a few to inspire you, should you need it. And I think we all do:

-- Marcus Amaker
-- Hilarie Lambert
-- Duy Huynh
-- Chad Luberger
-- Karen Hewitt Hagan
-- Ethan Stiefel