“Creation, creativity, NSCAD University and ducking into the art world”

A number of years ago someone once asked me what art is or meant. I can’t exactly remember the quote but it was something like that. I think I may have spouted some regurgitated art school babble. But that question pops up in my head now and again.

This comment resurfaced recently in a casual conversation and I got me to thinking about the answer. As with most common vernacular terms that we use everyday, we know how to use the term, what it references in the specific but have a hard time to define it in a general way.

I used to try to define art by what it is not. For example, things that were created to sell or do business were not art. I used to think that real art was created out of nothing but the talent (creativity) of the artist. But then I went to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design (now called NSCAD University) and got into the history, education and practice of art making.

Now one of the many exceptional things about NSCAD is that along with the history education you are also involved in the practice of creating art yourself (and being critiqued on it by your peers). Quickly you get a clear sense of what you consider artistic and then, as you learn and do more the less you know.

Another significant thing about NSCAD is its history of being a conceptual art school. NSCAD was one of the world’s top conceptual art schools in the 70’s, and continues with this heritage to this day.

What is conceptual art? Well, that’s another tricky term. Simply said, as I see it, conceptual art is art that focuses on the concept of the created work, or the idea behind it versus the technique or formal creation of the work. Now this is painting conceptual art with a wide brush (ha ha) and it is put into practice in an infinite number of ways.

I was lost on what conceptual art was for the first while at school until one day when I walked by the campus gallery. I saw a large, multi-coloured, striped beach ball on a string going up and down in the display window. I got it right there and then. I’m not sure if you make that connection but for me, it just clicked.

One of the many things I have taken away from NSCAD is a wider acceptance of what art may be. Being open to the possibility and trying to argue it from a defensive point of view gives the opportunity for more things to be recognized and accepted and thus and enriches our lives.

Now back to defining art by what it is not. Well I have throw that out long ago. So many things that are now recognized as art were once a product of business, be it in a outright corporate sense or some alternate agenda. Other famous works of art had their “sell” purpose and were heavily agenda driven.

That’s the cool thing about art history. It the understanding of why the work was created, how it fits into a historical narrative and the political back-story. That’s where the art appreciation comes from. For me it’s the story as part of the final product, or in this case, the artwork.

So now I’m a bit lost. Where does this fit into CM Creative? I think that is a question for both you and I at this point.

What I was getting to is that the art world and the business world are not too far apart. I had thought that once you drop money into the equation, you could find that division to define what is or is not art. That argument has little validity though. Just check out some of Frank Gehry’s work (just Google him combined with Bilabo and you’ll be impressed). The things he creates are incredible and costly. In fact Michelangelo was commissioned by Pope Julius II to paint the Sistine Chapel. So I can surely toss away that money-disqualifies-art definition.

I’ve been fortunate to be able to flex my creative muscle in many of the projects I’ve completed. As a creative professional, it’s nearly impossible not to. Even the blandest material in the right hands can be made interesting and, dare I say it, artistic. Now this is not to say that all material can but with the right creative professional involved, your final product will have more impact and be a better received.

CM
www.cmcreative.ca