Who makes art? Art is made by an artist. Generally when I picture an artist I think of an adult human person, but certainly human children create art and I dare say possibly the bulk of art hung in homes is created by children. I’ve also seen art created by animals, and one piece made by a tree. Now we also have computers generating art, but not necessarily creating it.
Whether artistic ability is innate or acquired is, I suppose, part of the nature vs nurture question. I feel like, though, it doesn’t matter. The people who create art are the people who are interested in the whole process. Their starting places may not be the same, but their desire is what drives them, anyway.
The role of the artist, in my view, is to reflect our experiences back to ourselves. Some artists will reflect our hopes, fears, dreams, and nightmares. Some will record us as we are in that moment. Some will show us the beauty inside our souls or in our creations. And some will show us what we are afraid to see of ourselves. Cletus the slack jawed yocal said something like “I whittles what I sees” and I think that sums up the discussion nicely.
