I love making art but I also love going to art exhibitions, especially if I know the artist. It is an absolute joy to be able to share the excitement of an exhibition opening and see what the artist presents to the world. Or to be at your own exhibition surrounded by fellow artists who support and cheer you on.
It can be a humbling and scary experience putting your artwork out in the world to be scrutinised. Yet this is what artists in every art form do when they perform or sing, exhibit or premier their films. Having an appreciative audience means you are more inclined to do it again, to keep on creating, experimenting and showing your work. I think of that saying: when one rises, we all rise.
This past week I have been privileged to attend several exhibition openings and show my short Art of Pottsville film in a new venue. I love mingling with others and talking about art, whether that is about the techniques that were used, or the messages the artists conveyed.
This connection to someone via their art form can stretch across centuries, even millennia. Walking through the archaeological sites of Greek temples or the rock art in Arnhem Land gives that sense of wonder, a connection of you with people long past, a culture different yet still present in that place.
It’s that sense of connection you can feel when being in the presence of like minded souls. Feeling part of an artistic community and immersing yourself in art, your own or someone else’s can be exactly the therapy you need on a grey and dismal day or when life itself feels a little overwhelming.
My daughter is studying art therapy, revelling in the psychology of why art is created. For me the process of making art or immersion in other people’s art is another form of therapy. Whether you want to paint pictures of flowers, sing an aria or clown around on stage, it is the creative act itself that is the therapy.
Artists Judy Oakenfull and Annie Long with me at my film showing for the Bird Nerds exhibition in Small Works Gallery, Murwillumbah.