Art - Just Busting Out All Over

For the past few weeks I’ve found myself going to art events; openings, open studio events, and so on, with more on the calendar. Most recently I’ve been to SoWa (South of Washington, here in Boston) to see the wonderful studios in the converted red-brick factory buildings there which a couple of years ago were desolate and ruinous. They seem to have no trouble filling the converted spaces with artists of all kinds. There are so many, in fact, that I’m not even sure where all the artists have come from. They certainly didn’t seem to be lurking in the shadows waiting for these spaces to be built, although I could be wrong about that. But now it’s clearly a case of ‘if they build it they will come’. Not all the art is first rate. Yet that isn’t altogether a bad thing. I’d say it was actually very good news, because it tells me that there are huge numbers of people who, for whatever reason, have decided to be artists - even though it might not pay the rent yet, even though they have no guarantee of commercial success. They feel their creative urges strongly enough to say: That’s it! I’m going to give myself the experience of creativity! Without that basic courage, that leap of faith, no art worth the doing will ever happen. These people are doing something bold and necessary for their souls; they’re living their creativity. A few years ago everyone was jumping around going to the gym and getting fit. That’s good for the body, and for the soul, too, and I wouldn’t say a bad word about that. Now, though, it feels as though we have a similar upsurge of people who want to grow their spirits, too. Make art, not hedgefunds.