A Dynamic of Making Art
Imagination allows freedom, myth provides structure,
and you make art of it. Something wrong with that?
Good things require effort and dedication, but there’s always a struggle for the good things. Is making art of life a good thing? Worth your attention?Making art of life means whether you’re a ditch digger or a senator, you make art of it to the best of your ability. Simple, make art, good things happen.
“Imagination Allows Freedom”
What has more built-in freedom than imagination? At the very least we can imagine we are free. It’s available, even if the rest of you is in prison or disabled. We can “make believe” anywhere.
The challenge to using one’s imagination is that we’re told consistently that imagination isn’t a real thing, it’s for children to learn in school, and it doesn’t pay the rent, we’re told. There’s not room here to get into the reputation of imagination, but truth be told, imagination is the birth of reality. It’s how one uses it, or perhaps, how one doesn’t use it.
“Myth Provides Structure”
Myths birth ideas, helps find something you like, a direction for your imagination to go. Myth comes from many places: something from the human race, for the human race.
The history of myth is well-established. Much of literature is devoted to myth. It’s good, all that study explains and records our understanding of myth, but it’s interesting, whether we know anything at all about the word myth or not, we humans live myth every single day.
Your myth can be around a national figure, a celebrity or a folk hero, or your myth can be the story of how your Uncle Roberto escaped the Border Patrol. Or it can be all of these myths at once. Myth simply happens, here, there and everywhere.
“Make Art of Your Life”
Now, if you’re reading about art, then you have some ability or interest. Pick up the pencil, the guitar, the new set of sockets, whatever; make art with your body, heart and mind. Add the imagination you already have, along with your choice of myth. Mix it up. Good things.
Michael Parra Callas 