This week a classmate---who just turned 30---asked me an important question.
"When did it become a requirement that to be in art class, you have to be weird?"
She asked it like she and I were the "normal" ones.
I shot off some quick answer about the "artistic temperament" (which I really believe in, though I'm not sure what comes first---the art or the temperament). Some people feel like they have to be weird to be seen as creative. Some people are genuinely different and their views allow them to try daring designs. Some people just want to be left alone; it's nobody's business what/why they are painting that neon turkey. Blah, blah, blah.
Anyhow, after considering my classmates question all week, I've arrived at the best answer I know:
"It became a requirement when you gave yourself permission to define the word 'weird'."
2 comments:
In G/T training, wierd was called "divergent thinking" and was used as a tool to identify gifted students ... another slant on the defining game.
K
don't know if you remember that my dad is an artist/painter. he doesn't look the part at all and always got slack for it at art school. in fact, he's a total jock. hs football qb, veteran, tennis instructor!
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