In the book Rooftop Soliloquy, Roman Payne writes, “…all forms of madness, bizarre habits, awkwardness in society, general clumsiness, are justified in the person who creates good art.” To a degree I think this is true, if for no other reason than its acknowledgement that society allows artists to break social norms because it’s understood art will allow us to see things in a new way.
Arts function is to take both extremes as well as the mundane of existence and present it in a way that offers some sort of commentary or inspires new thought. It’s for this reason the “bizarre habits” and “awkwardness” are condoned, understood, and sometimes embraced.
While it’s easy to romanticize the value of the process – embracing the journey rather than the destination – for me the essential factor in art is about the actual creation of something and that goal is not reached until the end. The process becomes an important factor over a period of time of the development after many different pieces – recognizing how that has changed to reach finalized goals.
I don’t label myself an artists but rather as a creative person who associates with other creative people. I’m sure in using the word “goals” would rub some the wrong way, but all the art I create – in music, photography, etc. – is not tangible until something is complete – until there is something to show. Prior to that, it’s only an idea. Because my friends and I are artists (if we consider ourselves such or not) we do everything we can to see our ideas into realization.
Joseph Mietus
goldenboyphoto.com
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Joseph Mietus was an Exhibiting Artist in AnySquared’s Fall 2014 Because Art Exhibition.