Art is What You Can't Do

I overheard a snippet of a (truly insipid) conversation the other night which really angered me.

I'm not sure what was being discussed, nor what was said before or after, but I heard a statement that went something like, "People have this misconception that Art is what you can do - it isn't what you can do; Art is what you feel."

Well, I felt like kicking that chick's ass.

Somehow, I doubt that would have been protected, or even understood, as an artistic statement.

But I really felt like kicking her ass, so I'm not sure.

I mean, I figure I'll know Art when I feel it... and right then, I really felt like pumping her fucking teeth down her throat.

I am not sure if I was meant to overhear this comment, because the person who said it knows that I am a huge proponent of the idea that Art literally is about what you can do, but I have a feeling that, since she does know that, she meant for me to hear it.

And I would like to reword her statement thusly:

"People have the misconception that Art is about what you feel you can do - but Art isn't about what you feel you can do; Art is about what you can do."

© C Harris Lynn, 2008