As an artist

As an artist, my work has been seen by only a handful of the 6 billion people on the planet. Of that handful, only a fraction give it the time and consideration it deserves. So to think of making art as the goal of the artist seems misdirected. Rather, art is the consequence of the efforts of the artist whose goal, in my experience, is to make sense of and even love the world in a way that resonates with and expands the perception of others. In this sense, mathematics, literature, dance, science, music, psychology, etc. can end in works of art. Likewise, works of art can become literature, music, dance, science and psychology.

The artist should go about his/her work with passion, integrity, humility and generosity. This is a difficult prescription and certainly one I stumble over all the time. Still, there it is.

My current favorite definition of art is from Eugene Ionesco: "Art is the collision of a man with the universe." I suppose this collision could be accidental, careless, swaggering, desperate or arrogant. But a collision leaves things in pieces every time. Pieces of the man or pieces of the universe or both. But if one has the courage to put the pieces back together, then there's always a new man and a new universe.