Among others, art forms an important source of inspiration in our work.
Art always has a message (in the broadest sense).
The artist felt an urge to express their message through a medium like a painting, sculpture, photograph, movie or performance.
The best artists can express themselves the clearest.
The artist thinks about how their message is conceived most persuasively.
To be persuasive, the artist filters our complex world into the essential.
So what is so important in the eyes or ears of an artist, and why did the artist spend (so much) time to express it?
I think it’s also interesting to think about how art (or message) is being perceived.
In the end, the viewer will be the “judge” of an art piece.
In a sense, one can say that art becomes “art” when it’s recognized and appreciated by a group of people (in time).
(Often, a curator, deejay, or event manager (and so on) carefully preselected a message for a wider audience)
The message will become widespread, and therefore the message will be stronger.
So how is a message received?
First, the message is “staged” (in any sense).
It can be shown in a museum, or there is a stage for a performance.
This will be a certain introduction that an important message is expressed.
The audience is willing to spend their time “listening” to the message.
Then the message is performed (in any sense).
The message (art) speaks to you; it touches your inner level of unconsciousness and is perceived as “beautiful”.
So you see or hear something beautiful, and it triggers your memories and imagination (formed from memories?).
Sometimes immediately or sometimes days, weeks, months or even years later, you start to reflect on the art (=message).
Or what (broken/mixed) memories (and imagination) the message triggered.
The message gives meaning and inspires new insights.
I think the mechanism of how the art/message is perceived and what kind of insights it gives is most important and is the essence of art in a way.
For that reason, I like ambiguous art; it’s free for interpretation and could have (and get) many different meanings.