Why Art?

What exactly is art? Well, I personally do not believe that there is any one clear cut answer to this question. Every single human being could be asked what art means to them and every single answer could be completely different, however, every single answer would also be correct. What does this say about art? Art is different for everyone and it is meant to provoke individuals to feel a certain way about the art they are looking at. Art cannot be defined by one specific definition as art is everywhere and in everything. That being said, in my mind there are certain characteristics that differentiate a good piece of are from a bad piece of art. The most important being that good are should make you feel; feel happy, feel sad, feel angered, feel inspired. I believe that if you feel any sort of emotion or questioning when you look at a piece of art, an artist has completed their mission. Art is very rarely just meant to be looked at. It is meant to be thought about and deeply analyzed. Art pushed the viewer to challenge their preconceived thoughts, beliefs and emotions in a way that humans very rarely do on a day to day basis.

My two favorite artists are Pawel Kuczynski and Shawn Coss. These two men have portfolios that are made up mostly or both drawings and paintings. Their artwork, however, is very rarely, if ever, meant to simply bring happiness and joy to those who view their creations. Both men create pieces of art that are mean to challenge the viewers’ preconceived notions about both the world they live in and what they believe to be true about certain concepts. Kuczynski is known for making very controversial pieces of art, mostly covering topics such as politics, religion, the class system, modern technology and social media. All of his work is very cartoony, bright, colorful and overall, his pieces seem as though they would greatly appeal to children. Despite the bright colors and playful art style Kuczynski implements in his art, his main goal is to challenge the viewers of his art to look into themselves and questions their own thoughts and beliefs. He desires to bring light to modern issues and stir the pot a little bit to engage and capture the attention of individuals of different political, religious and societal beliefs.  

Shawn Coss is another artist whose drawings, despite some of them incorporating very childlike imagery, are meant to bring awareness to social and political issues. For instance, Coss does a series of illustrations every year during the month of October, that are usually centered around different mental or psychological disorders. This is meant to bring awareness to different disorders that effect millions of individuals around that world, that are either not very commonly talked about, or that have stigmas around them. Coss also creates drawings that are centered around both politics and religion. Coss is a huge fan of pointing out the hypocrisy of the Catholic Church and Christianity as a whole, so he creates drawings that inspire people to think freely and to truly think for themselves on issues and topics covered in his art.