The Full Circle: The Passion Coma

"I think the reason why many people have low art enthusiasm and museum attendance has to do with the inability to be still. In this society, as a culture we are groomed from birth to death to crave instant gratification. We are bombarded with noise and digital distractions through TV, videos, and other media sources.

When it comes time to be still, to be silent, to listen with your soul, there is a restlessness and the absence of passion. Why? This is new and unexpolored territory. With any new experience comes the feeling of being out your element and discomfort. Where there is normally noise and erratic visual stimulation, there is now silence and objects are in a static state.

To have passion is to have the ability to listen with your soul, to be silent and reflect on life -- past, present, and future, and to appreciate the many interpretations of life aka ART. For those that it does not come naturally, passion must be nurtured :)"

I like what Tyson has said about passion but in my experience, this falls short of its complete definition. Passion, for me, does have to do with listening to your soul but this must be followed by ACTION! There has to be activity. I can not imagine where we'd be if Thomas Edison had the passion for the improvememnt of the light bulb for home use but never acted on that message from his soul. Passion without action is dead just like faith without works is dead.
I believe that people could be more in tune to their own personal passion but lose this ability as they age. Children have wealthy imaginations but as they grow in to adults they tend to let go of the make believe. This same principal applies to passion. I can recall being an incredibly passionate teenager. So can everyone for that matter. That boy, girl, sport completely consuming your every thought when you were fourteen? Once we got older, some of this intense passion slipped away. Some hold on to it and are able to transfer it to another aspect of their life. Others completely let it go and are satisfied never to feel that way again.
I do not believe the problem with low involvement in the arts is due to people being unable to sit still. I have seen forty grown men sit still in front of a television for several hours. Art makes you feel and it makes you think. That is why I believe people do not frequent museums. You are right about us being bombarded with instant gratification images and magazines. People are only still with what they want to be still with. The television or a gossip rag. No one wants to think too deeply. No one wants to be forced or challenged by a piece of art. People want mindless, brain numbing television twenty-four seven. This is sad and unfortunate but fairly true for the majority.
I completely agree about people being fearful of discomfort. Deep artistic stimulation is very foreign to most people. They will run from these odd thoughts and feelings instead of embracing them.
Passion is different for everyone but for me, as a moving artist, I have what I like to call a, "passion coma". This is when I hear a song that touches the very depths of my soul requiring me to drop what I am doing and become a prisoner to my gift for the next three to five minutes. For other people, the "coma" could be anyhting. It could be a visit to the Louvre, the smell of clay or a pair of tap shoes that ignites your passion sending you to another place during the creation of a personal masterpiece.

I heard it said that, "passion is one step from crazy". In my experience, the step in question is not a big one. Is your passion one step from crazy? If so, what does that look like in your art?

The Full Circle: Savoldo's Mary Magdalene

"Saint Mary Magdalene at the Sepulcher" by Giovanni Girolamo Savoldo

I am not convinced art is more about what you see than it is about what you feel.

I recently took a trip to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, CA. As my friend and I were perusing the walls and walls of beauty in the Italian gallery, I came across this painting. The description tells the Biblical story of Mary Magdalene as she sees Christ for the first time as the risen Messiah.

This painting captured me in a way I have never been captured by art. I began to process what I was seeing, feeling and I felt emotions rapidly swirling through me. I was raised listening and learning the stories of the Bible but never had I felt Mary Magdalene to be portrayed in such beauty. The golden shroud is immaculately detailed though, when I saw this painting, it brought waves of shame and happiness over me. All at the same time, I could have cried and laughed.

A million people could walk by this painting and it mean nothing to them. I choose to believe this painting had such an impact on me and the other people gathered by the painting because of our heightened level of passion. I could feel the others really taking in the painting and allowing it to resonate inside them. It feels as if the work of the truly passionate can only be appreciated by the truly passionate. Is this why many people don't care for museums? Does low art enthusiasm and museum attendance have a connection with true, deep rooted passion?

In that moment, standing in front of that painting, I felt unbelievably special. More so than I have in a long time. Passion stirs me on the inside and somehow manages to deepen my gifts with every artistic experience.

The Full Circle: The Beginning

Amy Lowell said, "Art is the desire of woman to express herself, to record the reactions of her personality to the world she lives in."

Honestly, this quote could have stopped before the first comma. "The desire to express herself." Self expression is so powerful. I believe all art has an underlying connection not everyone can easily see. Painting, dance and opera are all connected on an intense frequency of passion. Many people live and die every day without experiencing true passion. This is why only a select few are able to fix their ears to this frequency. It's the humming sound in the museum, it's the smell of resin on the dance floor, it's the excitement of a new, innovative way to express yourself. If you feel this, then you know passion...but what are you doing with it? For many years I sat on my gifts and talents due to personal tragedy. I realize now I had betrayed myself. Years of creativity, never to be recovered.
I write now to express myself in a positive light. The Full Circle of Art is about taking different pieces of art, several genres, styles and comparing them with each other.

I believe, in some way, all art is connected and in one way or more, inspires more art.

ModM