The art that we all hope to make starts with story…
Art is a universal language. Elusive and often mysterious. Doesn’t matter what kind of art, musical arts, performance arts, visual arts all speak in the language of wide eyes, second looks, goosebumps, tears, wonder, joy, with words or without, across time and borders. We’ve all felt it. That’s why we love photography and probably most other art.
Story is how we experience life in its most basic form and share it with others. The most expressive medium of story is in the form of art. Story is what really matters — love, connection, from the heart. It’s why we live. It’s why we labor. It’s why we gather, and share, and dream. Story captivates, fulfills, changes us and others. It’s not so much the ending or outcome but the process of story. Funny how an opera or 400 page book can have the outcome in the last seconds or on a single page but the story takes an hour and a half or the first 399 pages. The story is what really matters, the outcome while nice is often secondary.
We often tend to focus too much on the ending in our photographs, we try and say too much, to finish the story, but that’s not where the art lies. Focus on the story and leave the endings to the photojournalists.
If the art is sometimes elusive, it’s because we haven’t yet found the right chapters yet or we focus too much on the ending and not the story itself. We rush and push and exert control and try and say too much, ending and all in each image. Art doesn’t respond to anything that rigid.
Breathe. Loosen your grip. Be authentic. Let go. Believe. Tell your story. Let your art work. Let others complete the last page. Now you’ve made the connection. You’ve created art.
