I understand that not every creative discipline has a product at the end - think teacher - super creative and innovative path, but no art products as a result of those efforts. However, there are many disciplines I believe that do create art, though not in the fine arts sense. It seems like, because we value the product as utility we call it by a different name because those things we do call art we pay top dollar for, but undervalue as a group because they are not produced with utility in mind. The dichotomy of arts prestige in relation to the fine arts and yet its lack of value in the minds of the masses while excluding other creative products and careers from the arts umbrella because we utilize their creations is a different way undervalues the artists at their core. How can we reconcile these opposing ideas when held in belief simultaneously? How can we begin to change our way of thinking about what constitutes art and who can call themselves artist?
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Ahhhh! The dichotomy I live in! Pretty much literally as well as metaphorically, actually. Whenever we're contemplating a project around the house, the mantra is: "Make the thing. Do what you gotta do. Use whatever you have to use. When it's done and it works, I'll make it pretty." And the level of creativity that goes into creating a working shower out of bits and bobs of fifty year old plumbing lying around the house, trust me, it's astounding. I want to live in a house that does all the things a house is supposed to do. But I also want to live in an aesthetically pleasing environment. The trick is melding those two things, and doing it on a negative budget!
So how do we reconcile those two ideas? I think it starts by realizing there aren't two ideas. it's all one. Whether the outcome is a physical tangible thing, or a healthy, well-adjusted and educated human being, life is a work of art. None of it exists without creativity.
We are always amazed when we see an animal use a tool. Why is that? We use tools. It's practical to use a tool for something you aren't physically equipped to do without a tool. it's utilitarian. A simple fact. But it's also more than that. It requires problem solving beyond the practical. And that implies some level of creative thinking. Life exists because of that creative thinking. Life IS art.