Feb 03 2009
A Dying Art
The story I am about to tell starts with someone on the brink of leaving this world,
not through sudden death or a horrible accident – no,
that would be too melodramatic. They are going to accomplish their loss of life through gradual evaporation. They will dissolve and disappear sooner than anyone may think to notice.
Call them robots if you will, bio-mechanical meat-bags that used to feel things before they lost the ability or desire to do so, and now these ‘things’ don’t stand a chance to survive on any level. Hell, I believe these things are becoming you and me. When we said art is cool, entertaining and crafty, we forgot that art is a lot more than image, entertainment and craft. As this 40,000 -year old cave-painting would prove, art is the most important part of our lives after only a few basic needs of survival have been met and anyone who would disagree may already be extinct themselves.
An artist who painted this animal had a very short, harsh and cruel life, probably witnessing the death of most of his own offspring and family members throughout his lifetime. I’d imagine he could be doing something else with his time, instead he took the time to create something me and you can admire today. That’s what art does, it time travels beyond lifetimes and eras, it endures.
One can only speculate as to the true meaning of this, perhaps the most famous of masterpieces of all time. Whatever the meaning Da’Vinci imbued it with was already significant in his own time. The artist would not part with it until the end of his life, taking it with him on all his travels. For us, this work of art may bear another meaning - we’ve all heard the legends surrounding the Mona Lisa and Leonardo Da’Vinci in general, and we’ve all seen the films. But what does it symbolize in the end? Perhaps her all-knowing smile embodies the countless waves in the ocean of the human condition, or perhaps it shows us a world without time.
One thing we can’t deny - comedy, music and canvas have saved more lives than can be imagined, postponed or even altogether prevented suicides and encouraged more art in the end. For the first time in human history – this profound, creative force is dying. Today, more artists, musicians, actors, cartoonists and writers are losing their jobs and livings than at any time except perhaps the Dark Ages. The poverty line is at an all-time high since the end of World War Two, and more and more of us are becoming alienated and distracted. But while some men and women may merely have jobs – others have a mission.
Today, as sad and ironic as it may seem, art is highly expendable. The top two things that any given alternative magazine will cut in the face of economic turmoil are advertizing and comic strips. Funnily enough, comics are unanimously one of the first things people tend to go to when they open a publication like that. Maybe they are just looking to waste some time, than again - maybe they are lookking for something alot more. Galleries are commercializing too, which means that your ability to create art will soon be in direct proportion to your bank account. There are countless numbers of Mozarts, Kurt Cobaines and Jim Morrisons who will perish before giving us a chance to share in their creativity and genious. Every artist like that deserves a good label to sign them, but alas today that is determined by sales strategies and potential revenue plunges rather than talent.
So, what is the answer to this crisis? Is it money? Can you throw money at the Grim Reaper if you see her on your deathbed? No ammount of laser surgery and heart transplants will save you from that fiend if she’s hell-bent on taking you yonder. The answer is simple - you. Your involvement and encouragement. Go ahead - kiss an artist today, I’m sure you know one or two. Expend a few twitches of that index finger and E-mail your local weekly newspaper and ask them not to cut that alternative comic strip (because by God, right now they will with or without an excuse). Participate in your community’s art scene, vote in on-line art forums, get involved in an amateur poetry improv night, go to an art gallery opening near you, or just drive to a forest and see something beautiful. Live.
