As an artist myself, I really hate the idea that seems so entrenched in modern American art culture that art needs to be good. The idea that art has to be technically difficult and the cutting edge of skill is ludicrous and in my eyes completely misses the point of making art.
We have to consider what art really is and why we make it. Because in a large sense, a lot of art is practically garbage. It is a tangible item that has no real use except for the fact that someone finds it aesthetically pleasing. Obviously, this does not apply to all art as some pieces are practical, but we have to also consider the internal drive inside of us as humans to create art. Since time immemorial we have been creating things that did not help with necessary survival functions, but we created them anyway. We as people have always had a deep need to create things that reflect parts of who we are and the world we inhabit. Art has had a near constant presence throughout history because something about the human spirit has a deep set need to create.
Yet, one thing I hear consistently when showing people my art is a response along the lines of “Oh, that’s amazing, I want to do that, but I’m just bad at art.” As if being “good” at art has ever been the reason why we create. The concept of being “good” at art comes from a long period of time where someone creates over and over and over. You see the finished piece, not every failure before it, and not the guidelines underneath. Being “good” at art is not something that just happens, but something that results from endless poring over your craft to perfect it in a way that makes you happy. Being bad at something is the first step to being good at something. And being good at something isn’t the goal of art. It is to create something that means something to you and you can connect with. Art is subjective. I have seen masterworks that surely took a lifetime of practice and weeks of crafting to make. And still connected personally more with simple pencil drawings and sketches.
I think the perfect example of how art doesn’t have to be good in order to be beautiful is karaoke night. All the time people say that it sounds fun but make excuses to not go up like “Oh, I can’t sing very well” or “I just won’t sound good on stage” as if that has ever been the point of karaoke. Of course there are a couple people that come to show off their singing voices, but they are far from the average person going up. Putting on a show-stopping performance is not the point of karaoke. The point is to go on stage and sing a song that you like. Put on a performance. Enjoy yourself on stage. Your song is your moment. And it doesn’t matter how well you sing because the audience is going to love it anyway. People can tell when you’re having fun on stage and they respond to it. Karaoke is about creating a shared space where we can make and enjoy music together as a community. How good you are will never, ever be as important as the fact that you went and did it. Getting on stage and flatly slurring a song with your friends is absolutely art. And it is beautiful art. So enjoy it without the expectation that it has to be “good.”
When people don’t create art because they think it won’t be good enough, we all lose. The artist doesn’t get to work on their craft, and the world is robbed of another artist. When we allow the idea that art has to be good, we lose so much art that could have been, and that makes the world just a bit less colorful. My personal taste is that I love “bad” art. Drawing where you can see the vision but not necessarily the skill. Songs where someone who “can’t sing” is singing their heart out into a cheap mic. I love the rough edges and the awkward in betweens. So, please go create. Regardless of whether or not you think it will be “good” just create. There is so much beauty in the ways we can decorate our world.
Blu Thomas can be reached at [email protected]