The Decisive Moments in the Life and Work of 6 Great Artists
What are the events that lead a person to embark down the path of art? What is that something that exists in artist’s vision that makes him different to everyone else?
The object of the artist is the creation of the beautiful.
What the beautiful is, is another question.
James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
For almost all of us there comes a time, moment, that changes everything permanently; decisions we make or experiences that take us to a point of no return; midnight epiphanies or painful losses that force us to perceive life in a different way. However, the moments when someone decides to create a specific work often vary in terms of events and decisions and, at times, they simply happen, without any will behind them.
Creativity, imagination, talent, knowledge and eloquence, are some of the characteristics that we commonly associate with the figure of the artist. But it is sensitivity that transforms him or her into a character unlike everyone else. Artists are those who are capable of “reading between the lines” and finds signs in the apparently meaningless events of everyday life. They are the characters who are capable of seeing beauty —whatever that means— in places where people cannot find it, and they make it evident for everyone to see.
It is in this manner, rebellion against family traditions, the profound pain of heartbreak, the destructive impulse we all carry within, or the small glimmer in the depths of a lake, can be, for some, the unequivocal sign of the role they must play in the world. A source of inspiration for a message that only they can carry. This is why the artist, in the ancient world, was perceived as an illuminated being, a creator, closer to wisdom and divinity than other folks. After all, it is through their eyes that the rest of us can finally see new things.
In this video, six contemporary artists (Jonathan Meese, Bill Viola, Elina Brotherus, Yayoi Kusama, Pipilotti Rist and Leigh Ledare), describe the moments or events that led them to choose art as a way of life, or to create some of the most notable works.
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