I met with a couple of queer siblings last week who are heavily involved in the art, music and party scenes in Portland. I was interviewing them for the newspaper where I intern. We talked a lot about the various hardships involved in being an artist and trying to find a way to do what you love to support yourself (I'm certain that I don't need to list them). But I asked them what kinds of changes they thought would have to happen in peoples' attitudes towards art before being a painter or musician or writer would be an easily accessible career. And the woman said something so wonderfully simple and yet so right on:
“People need to recognize that art is nurturing and art is supportive. The first shift has to happen mentally, art is a spiritual, emotional thing that can nurture you. A painting on a wall or music in your cd player needs be looked upon with the same amount of reverence as the food in your stomach, in that kind of way."
Of course this is obvious. There are few people left untouched by some form of art, but she went with her point to say that people should be willing to pay for this kind of nourishment. That people go out and buy pants or food and pay rent without a thought, but are much less willing to pay for music, paintings, books or other forms of art that are just as necessary to a complete life. Anyway, it was a moment in which somebody put my own thoughts into an analogy that made sense. It was good to hear and I have to agree.
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