Paused Time

Paused Time-
Recontextualized Lawrence Weiner
(photographed from a reproduction of the original work contained in a monograph on the artist.)
Digital Photography, 2009

It is difficult to wake up and feel anything other than the grand irony of the tragic comedy, as artists, we are characters in. We were shown the gun in the first act (1960’s pop), fired warning shots in the second (late 80’s drop to early 90’s stumble), and are at present loading the weapon, threatening to use it on “the market”, our “collectors” and ourselves.

We know that what we do is unnecessary. We know that art is not a requirement for life for anyone other than an artist. We also recognize that quality in life is derived from art.

So what is art? How does art add quality to life? I argue that art removes an experience from existing solely in front of us. It brings an experience into the mind where it can be isolated, taken out of context, and recontextualized. It allows for a moment where the intangible and nonquantifiable concepts of that experience create harmony, paused time. The pauses in life are what we remember and cherish. They are beautiful moments or experiences. The pauses are the quality in life. Recognizing that beauty and memory are subjective, this allows for art to take any experiential form. Art is infinitely variable and continually unique as the experience will vary from person to person, generation to generation, culture to culture. Art is anything. Context is everything.

All that said, sometimes the mystery should remain unsolved. Just knowing that something is there may be enough.