How to change someone's life – By Thom Reaves
I'm coining a new phrase; "Share art. Touch a life. Change a life." As lofty as it may sound, I really do believe that art can touch and change someone's life. Isn't that why we artists (who sell our work) make art, because we want to have an effect on the viewer enough for them to purchase it and take it home with them? To create something that will speak not only its creator, but to a viewer who would enjoy it and want it? I suggest that it is.
So how can art touch and change someone's life? There is the natural effect that artistic culture can bring. Going to a museum or an art gallery, even if one has no experience or knowledge of art, they are places where the mind can rest for a moment or a while and just take in beauty, or cause the mind to inquire, “How did they do that?”. These things change a person in subtle ways; ways of thinking, of discovery and appreciation.
Art can change a community. I come from Trenton, NJ, a city where an art event is held every year called Windows of Soul; an urban beautification project that brings together artists who install artwork on the windows of abandoned buildings in blighted neighborhoods. This event has become one of major community involvement, bringing together diverse groups of people; artists, teachers, musicians, children and adults who unite to change abandoned city blocks into something beautiful to look at, altering a negative environment into one which can inspire hope and a positive outlook for the future. The change in the environment changes the people who live there.
Art has affected many people with illnesses, giving them something to hold on to through difficult challenges. On a personal note, I am one of those people. Art has changed my life. I have bipolar illness, an illness which puts up a barrier and makes it very difficult to see and be affected by the hope that something beautiful can bring. Though I have those dark times, if I keep creating my art, I see in the strokes of my brush, the colors I use, and the humor I sometimes inject, a powerful anchor – a lifesaver on which to grip, and one that pulls me back into the light. I want my art to touch someone in this way as well.
Art touches life, so art can change a life. So, to all artists, art collectors and art enthusiasts, share your art. Touch a life and change a life.
How has art affected your life? Please comment and let me know your story.
