Art should make you feel something
I was watching ‘Good Trouble’ (which by the way is a really great show that people should get into)
Anyway, I was watching Good Trouble and an artist was hosting some school kids and asked them what they thought of his work. They said they didn’t understand what it was and he said something along the lines of ‘good art should make you feel something’.
Some months ago I was looking at a painting by my friend Anjola. And I felt something, it was about the missing Chibok girls, it was a girl screaming. I’ve seen that painting a LOT online and even in person, but I never truly SAW it, or paid enough attention to it; but I was looking at it that day, and I just got this wave of emotion from it. It conveyed sadness, vulnerability, fear and anxiety to me. And it’s a beautiful beautiful painting, and it made me rate Anjola even more than I already do (love you girl). Because the ability to pass that kind of emotion through a painting? It’s beautiful, it’s raw talent.
Here it is by the way (courtesy of @four23_sales on instagram)
Another one is music. Good music makes you feel something; happy, sad, sexy, calm, excited. Something
Everyone involved in the music making process deserves their flowers, because how do you string a beat, or a melody together in a way that will somehow invoke powerful emotions for the people that listen to it? Sounds like sorcery to me.
An artist that always makes me feel something is Stevie Wonder. His music? To put it simply, it saved me.There’s something there, an underlying joyful, happy feeling that comes from his music. It invokes positive emotions for me. Always. That is an EXCELLENT artist.
Beyoncé too, everyone knows I love her. But you see that her Lemonade album? That is an excellent body of work, it takes you on a journey. I think that is the most vulnerable she’s ever been with us. There’s a lot of emotion there, from sadness to anger, to forgiveness.
Ooh Sam Smith is PERFECT for sad girl hours. And Ed Sheeran for soft girl hours
There’s this song off the Beauty and The Beast live action soundtrack called ‘Evermore’ by Dan Stevens. Every single time I listen to that song I cry, I’m not exaggerating. No matter how I’m feeling at the time I can promise the tears will flow. There’s something raw there, an almost physical ache and longing, and love, that appeals to the hopeless romantic in me.
I could get into the science behind that and how art affects our brains but you see, I don’t want to.
But anywayyyy,
I’ve gained an even bigger appreciation for art recently. All kinds of art. I think it’s so beautiful, that people can express themselves in a creative, pleasing, powerful, and moving way that makes you feel something too. It might be the best thing about human existence.
