Thinking about art and what it means in today’s world.
It’s undeniable that social media and technology has changed our lives. But beyond the obvious, I’m interested to know how we’ve been effected and what does it mean be humans living our lives though machines.
I’m working a lot on this project I call sentence art. They’re single sentence stream of consciousness poems. I don’t want them to be bumper stickers or inspirational reminders that people stick on their computers. If they are that to some people, that’s fine, but that’s not my intention. I just want to express what’s in my head.
The funny thing about this sentence art is that it’s distilled. I’m wondering where this “distilledness” is coming from. Have I created an art form in response to the fact that I live in a world where my interactions are confined to 140 characters, or a brief FB paragraph, or a quick You Tube Video? If so, is that a good thing? Should art fit within the confines of social media? Is it necessary is this day and age? Will anyone take the time to pay attention to art if it can’t be consumed within 5 seconds?
This quick consumption stuff bothers me. I’ve heard that the length of time people spend in front of a masterpiece of art – say the Mona Lisa – is 30 seconds. The people who work security at the Getty tell me people average about 2 to 3 seconds in front of art pieces. And these are people who are taking the time out of their lives to go to a museum. Hmmm….
The other stranger project that I’m still thinking about — and still haven’t figured out yet — seems to be a reaction to the world of technology. It’s meant to connect with people. Flesh and blood. Real living, breathing interactions. It’s meant to take time with that stranger. It would be my way of spending time with the world around me in a more personal way, rather than at the arm’s distance length that technology provides.
The stranger project is meant to convey something to the person being interviewed. I want to let the person being interviewed to feel and know this: you are important. You are worth listening to. Your story and your thoughts matter. And… I am going to take the time to listen.
Like they say in Avatar…. I see you.
My wonderful novel writing friend, Anya, said she liked the idea of merging my drawing and sentence art as a way to combine these encounters. I would draw the people – not representational, but with contour drawing, then write one sentence to encapsulate the encounter. The only thing that feels derivative about that is the writing of one sentence to encapsulate the encounter — that’s what Humans of New York does. But I suppose I could construct a sentence, not of what they said, but what my free associative impression was. Hmmm… still not sure.
Saw an interesting You Tube video today… they lean into the world of technology to create art. They call themselves data artists. There’s a writer thrown in there too. Not sure how they all fit together, but it’s very interesting… and does inspire me to think about art in this world… Check it out — it’s about 11 minutes… so it should fit into your busy schedule — because that’s another thing about this world of ours — we’re always so stinking busy. https://youtu.be/99gMbK2QCKE
Posted these two pieces to Tumblr yesterday and didn’t get one like… that’s another subject for another day — what it means to be “liked” on social media. It’s called The Many Faces of Woman…
And then there was this sentence art that nobody “liked” except me…
Who knows how these things work…?
And then there was this poem that I posted that was “liked.” Well, I liked it too, since I lived it and love my daughter…
Still thinking… still creating… still playing… Hope the same for you… Open and welcoming of any any all thoughts… from all of you… I do want to see you all…
Kim Beyer-Johnson 
