You write a poem or a story. You draw a design. You compose music. You shoot a picture or a video. You craft.
You create art.
But why?
What compels you to do that?
Perhaps, creating whatever it is that you like creating gives you satisfaction.
Maybe you like to show others (and yourself) how skilled you are at something, thereby establishing yourself as a certain personality you hold dear.
Or you just like to convey your thoughts and feelings to others.
Some get so good at a certain art field that they earn their livelihood through it.
Whatever the reasons may be, people like creating art. It’s an established fact.
However, my uncertainty is over the belief whether creating art is worthwhile if no one’s there to consume it.
In other words, does art require an audience for it to be appreciated?
For example, if I draw something (say a pattern design), and I show it to no one, is it worth my time drawing the pattern?
If I just drew the pattern for my own satisfaction, it does make sense. In a way, creating art is akin to therapy here. Doodling or writing poems give me satisfaction when I’m bored with life. Maintaining a diary achieves the same.
But humans are social creatures. How much ever anti-social (or asocial) some of us may be, in the end, our evolutionary path has encoded us with some basic social needs and desires.
I do want to share what I create with others, especially with those who I hold dear. I want my art to convey what mere words and actions in day-to-day communication cannot.
As an introvert, with not much choice (most of which is my own undoing), I want my art to communicate my thoughts and feelings to others.
I can’t approach anyone directly and share whatever I want to. I’ve observed others do that, but it feels very strange whenever I try doing that. I don’t know whether it feels natural to others, but it requires a lot of mental effort on my part.
Text messaging helps, and so do social networks. But there’s only so much you can do with them.
Usually, my avoidance strategy is to be obscure, childish, and brute. Even my closest of friends don’t know much about me. Likewise, I don’t make much effort to know about others too.
Without knowing whether whatever I create achieves the level of real communication I desire, there’s very little motivation to continue.
Take this blog for instance. It’s a way to pour my thoughts out for the whole world to see. I don’t really know who’s going to read it, but I do know that it’s out there in front of everyone.
I wouldn’t be writing this post if there wasn’t such a possibility. So, in my mind, it’s worth it. That’s my motivation.
Let’s assume that there isn’t such a possibility. Would I still be writing this post? Probably not.
I’d do something else; something much more random. But not this.
There’s still a huge doubt looming over my head regarding this. At least, I’ve found a way to get across what I wanted to say.
