I had a hunch that the exhibition of the Belgian artist Michel François would be relevant for me to visit. I suddenly remembered how much I actually enjoyed being exposed to modern art during my years as an art student. It's an enjoyment I had in a way taken for granted.
My environment was promoting creative
expression, and being exposed to so many different languages and poetries of
expression had over the years simply become like a second nature. I
realise this is also what I enjoyed initally when I explored creative writing
for a few years. Within this I also realise how fortunate I was to have been
able to go to an artschool, where I was pushed to explore forms of expression
that are purely based on how self wishes to express and explore a point rather
than it being based on social convention and how things are ‘supposed to be’. Obviously norms and conventions also exist
within the world of art – but I found that the startingpoint within art
education allowed for much more ‘innocense’ and some kind of deeper life
wisdom, than the education I had been receiving thus far.
When I entered the exhibition for a moment I felt ‘lost’ between the artworks because it was clearly art that required some context and explaining and I felt that I was missing the context. For a moment I thought I should go back and get a folder with explanations which some other visitors seemed to consult. But instead of doing that I simply walked tot he wall where the titles of the artworks in this room were displayed. This actually revealed everything I needed to know. The titles were so specific it was amazing how that changed everything. I could appreciate the humor and the playfulness in the artworks.
I also rememered my own creative processess when doing research for art assignments at school. At the time I would often be annoyed at having to do this kind of research, because I felt like I was lacking a clear path, whereas that was part of the process: there was no clear path and you had to carve out your own path. This kind of education is quite beneficial because it places ‘self’ at the center of your own creative development and also the development of yourself as a person. But at the time I was so wrapped up in my emotional turmoil, I did not see these dimensions so clearly, lol.
Now I see them more clearly, and I can only wish that this type of education would be made available for everyone to experience, if they choose to.
