Some say that art is the violent collision between objective reality and the subjective mind. I believe them. When I talk about art, I mean all of the manifestations of art: music, writing, painting, dance, drama, the list goes on and on. I'm a classical pianist and have been since I was 15 years old and let me tell you, there is something there. Art means something different for every artist. To me, it is worship. To others, it is connecting to something beyond themselves. To others, it might be the glimpse of consciousness or it might be a place of actual self-awareness. It is one thing to be able to appreciate art, but to be an artist, musician, dancer or actor is entirely different. Here are five things all artists appreciate:
1. The Fellowship
There is nothing like getting together with a group of like-minded people who appreciate art the same way you do. There is nothing like being in the presence of people who won't look at you weird when you tell them this song or that short story gives you chills. It's beautiful by itself to create art, but to do so in the presence of community is something that all artists appreciate. Over art, we fellowship together, we break bread. For us, it is the unifying element that brings people of all ages and all backgrounds together.
2. The Patience
I remember when I first started to play the piano. I remember all the times that I became increasingly frustrated with my inability to keep up with tempo or hit the right note. "Practice makes perfect," my piano teacher would say as if I haven't heard the same cheeky sentence a hundred times before. If there is one thing we can learn from doing what we are passionate about, it is patience. Our passion, in this case art in all its forms, teaches us to show patience with the long process of creativity. Our passion forces us to recognize that all good things come in perfect timing. In this aspect, I believe artists to be truly unique people. In a culture that reflects an instant I-want-it-now persona, being able to derive patience from a perfected and repeated process is something we should hold onto for the rest of our lives.
3. The Hard Work
As artists, we have all run into the moment where we stand in front of a stage or sit in front of a white canvas, blank page or a music sheet that looks like someone scribbled all over it with permanent marker and we wonder to ourselves one thing: how? Doing what you love to do, whether it be art, music, dance, or acting is hard work. Sometimes it doesn't always come easy to us. I remember nights before recitals and competitions where I would sit in front of the piano with pencil in hand and scribble all over the score: every note accounted for, every decibel perfected. Sometimes we feel so overwhelmed to the point of quitting. But we get through it. We love what we do and we know within ourselves that it is not something worth giving up.
4. The Reception
As an artist, you have a deeper appreciation for the arts. You have a deeper appreciation because you know what it takes. You know the patience. You know the frustration. You've been there, you've done that. You understand. This kind of artistic empathy creates a common bond whenever you see a friend or professional do the same thing that you love to do. Some of the most mesmerizing and peaceful moments I have ever experienced have been in a concert hall listening to a pianist. We take it in differently than others, because we have that common bond of appreciation that holds us together. Everyone else sees art as something simply to be appreciated, but we are blessed with the ability to go beyond that, beyond just the value of appreciation.
5. The "Zone."
If you are an artist, you know what I'm talking about. Before you step on to that stage or floor, or before you approach that blank page or white canvas, your hands are sweaty and shaking. You question whether or not you have what it takes. But when you start creating, performing and doing what you love to do, none of that seems to matter anymore. You transcend that place. It's just you and what you love to do. You perform, but you don't just perform. You perform with your entire being. You put your whole soul and heart into it and you think to yourself that in that moment you wouldn't rather be any other place in the world. As artists, it's what we live for. It's not the awards, praises or applause. We live for that moment, whether on stage or alone in a quiet room, where we become, if only for a moment, whole. We go beyond the nonessential appreciation to the essence of art: peace in a chaotic world.
