What is
Art
Art is a self-expression medium that allows Artists to express themselves in a variety of forms. Artistic shapes and forms differ around the world. Our different cultures, beliefs, and worldly perspectives impact our work. Art has been around for millions of years and is used for storytelling, in major historical events, and in everyday life. An individual’s pieces explain how they experience this journey we call life. Art is a beautiful metamorphosis that can take shape in a number of ways, such as sculpture, painting, digital, etc… It is our job as viewers to really understand the meaning behind what the artist was trying to convey. It is a beautiful versatile expressionism that continues to grow in population. Personally, I believe that anyone and everyone is capable of creating art. Yes, people are more naturally gifted. However, everyone has their own creative freedom, their own art styles, and their own mindsets. Art is subjective, not an objective. Not everyone in the world will agree on a piece of artwork, and that’s okay. We should not demeanor our work for the sake of others. Freedom of expression is a powerful tool that can be used when Artists are having a troubled time. Art is a huge part of life, it is all around us. On build boards, murals on the sides of buildings, packaging on snacks, and the list goes on. Beauty is also in the eye of the beholder, everyone is entitled to his/her/their opinions meaning they can find a piece of art absolutely beautiful, but someone else may find it grotesque. Having an open mind set and being benevolent will really help the viewer to slow down and go deeper into the meaning of the piece. Art is a universal language, in all parts of the world art is used in a unique, creative, and beautiful way. Art is the language that can help us come together as people, as a society.
What is
Design
Design refers to lines or shapes that take a structured path by the Artist to create a pattern or piece of art. The design takes a steady throughout plan and process in order to balance structure. Design is found all around us in logos, movies, architecture, etc… People tend to over sea design, since it's all around them. We have become desensitized to these shapes and patterns throughout our everyday lives. For example, on clothes, different stipe design patterns (horizontal or vertical stripes) give the person different illusions, some people look better in certain stripes patterns than others. Design needs a thought out plan/idea in order for it to fit in a specific plan. In architecture, math is heavily involved with the process of design. The designer wants the building to be beautiful as well as structurally balanced. Before designing, you must take into account what is to be designed. Is it a billboard, a company logo, or a building archway? All three of these different scenarios will need different considerations. The billboard will only be seen for a few seconds on the road, the design needs to be short, bold, and eye-catching. A company’s logo must be memorable, like many fast food restaurants have simple shapes or letters, to make customers crave their foods from the slightest remembrance. Lastly, a building’s archway must consider the structure of it, to make sure it doesn’t fall or so the design doesn’t add too much weight. Many considerations must be taken in when designing for specific projects.
What is
Craft
Craft refers to a skill or hobby that is handmade. Craft comes in a wide variety of shapes, knitting, collage, textile, wood carvings, glass art etc… All of which require a certain skill level. Some crafts are ancient and are passed down from generation to generation. Craft can be a beautiful way to bring people together. For example, Turkish Lamps are seen as a beautiful decor within many parts of the world, which encourages people to possibly learn more about the origins of the lamp. Crafting can be traced back to millions of years ago. The first homosapiens constructed tools to help them better hunt and build. The Romans crafted some of the first cement recipes and created a powerful infrastructure. Ancient Egypt basket weaved, wielded, and carved into wood to please the empires highest. Today craft is very normalized that we do not take into account the time and effort that is put into them, like within sewing or crocheting. Crafting skills can be learned, it will take time, however it is possible for people who are interested in learning new art forms in order to dabble in something outside of their comfort zone. Craft is an amazing skill to bring people together, and to educate people of new forms of art into their world.
Comparing
Knowledge & Creativity
Knowledge and creativity are the base structure for all humans. We all possess the power to gain knowledge, from learning, having experiences, and practicing. We must learn skills like riding a bike or driving a car. Experiences firsthand helped shed light on subjects that were foggy. Lastly, practice and repetition help us solidify the subject in our minds for future use; this can be math, or history lessons, among other things. Creativity comes from emotion, experiences, and just simply having fun. Throughout the day people experience a rollercoaster of emotions, each emotion can lead to a different creative outlet. People say the most beautiful artworks are from the most powerful emotions. Being creative does not only mean making paintings or drawings. The vast complexity of “art” comes in many forms. Ranging from music to woodwork, architecture to landscape. Personal experiences can also impact a person’s creative side. Experiencing helps light up our minds, making us more open-minded. Creating is about having fun with your medium. Some may say that creativity is a distraction or that you need to “act your age.” However, the truth of the matter is that “Anyone can [Art]” - Chef Gusto. (Ratatouille 2007) It is not a distraction if you learn to balance your time and age will never be a variable to not be creative.
Knowledge and Creativity differ from each other, however, they are not complete strangers to one another. Media and society have implemented these “scientific” norms about the “right brain dominating” people being more creative and the “left brain dominating” people being more logical and knowledgeable. Studies have debunked this theory countless times, however, the general public loves the idea of picking a brain side. The Truth of the matter is that we need both sides of our brains in order to properly function in our everyday lives. This being said, knowledge and creativity have much in common. Often times experience can be knowledgeable and a creative opportunity. For example; in some animated movie productions that require animals, (dogs, cats, etc…) on occasion the animators are told to play with puppies (or whatever domesticated animal they will animate) so they can get a better understanding of their movements. This is a hands-on experience, they become knowledgeable of how the puppies run, sit, what ways their tails move, etc… And then they are able to take their experience to their creative field.
Both knowledge and creativity are keystones in the archway called, being human. They many have their differences, however you cannot have one without the other. I feel as if the quote “Learning gives creativity. Creativity leads to thinking. Thinking provides knowledge. Knowledge makes you great.”- Abdul Kalam, is a pretty good way to sum up the fact that we need both to be great.