Cup #153

This was on my Starbucks cup today. The best thing I've read on one, I think:

Is art entertainment?
Art teaches us about who we are.
Entertainment tells us who to be.
Art is a public service.
Entertainment is a private product.
Art opens our minds.
Entertainment thinks for you.
Art is publicly offered.
Entertainment is publicly traded.
Art is the words we wish to say,
but lack the language to say it.

-Justin Dillon
of the band, “Tremolo”

Does this not make the Holy Spirit the ultimate artist?
“...groanings which cannot be uttered.” -Rom. 8:26

A couple of friends of mine who are or were gigging musicians have talked to me lately about song order, inclusion of expected standards, and the mix of the familiar with the new to make your music “sell” in the context of a bar or restaurant, etc. That's entertainment. And entertainment is a job. One you might enjoy doing, but a job nonetheless. What you are doing is dictated by the desires of someone else who is buying a service or product. For it to be art, one has to be true to one's self. I do what I do that expresses what I want to express in the way I want to express it. If an audience can and wants to appreciate it, so be it. If someone wants to pay for it, that's a bonus. If not, I play on alone. People like to dance and drink to the music of a cover band, but I don't think anybody really respects them. In the end, the songs the cover bands copy in the bars are created by those who stay true to themselves. But even then, to fit into the biz and hit it big, most at some point have to bend to the will of producers and recording company executives, etc. (None of this is original thought here, I'm just processing my own consideration of it.)

So the true artist creates because he or she must create, not to be seen or heard by an audience. My friend and I have discussed the artist who might be a paraplegic in a hospital bed unable to speak. That person may create wonderful art in his head but the only person able to receive it is God. That person could be a consummate artist. And then there is that person who's art requires an artist to appreciate. Perhaps it is so complex that only a few people are able to understand and take it in. Maybe that person is the penultimate artist.

There is no ultimate art. There may be ultimate product. The hit song that is the staple of a musician's every subsequent concert that provides for his retirement. But the artist never finishes. The expression must go on as long as he is alive. There is always more to express. And there is never complete satisfaction with what is, though one might come close on a given day for that day. There is always what could be and a new idea to explore and attempt to express.

So, I think I've come to terms with something. I am not an entertainer at all. I have no skills there whatsoever. I'm not much of a performer either. I tend to choke unless I'm very comfortable with the people in my presence and deep into the zone. But I will continue to struggle to develop my skill set to where I can get something of what's on the inside to the outside. I am an artist. Perhaps few if any will ever perceive this. But that is who I am. And it only needs to matter to me.