The Value of Virtue

I believe that all things we do should be available to be shared without restriction, creative work and ideas especially as this triggers feeling we do not (yet) understand and which seem to be really important – perhaps other periods of human existence were closer to the value (not monetary) of art – perhaps some peoples living today are more in touch with the significance of art – perhaps.

This brings me back to the focus of my thoughts and the relevance to what I spend my time on (or as much as possible of it) which is to create images which share a feeling.

I have been saying these images have no monetary value – should not be sold or traded – I am also saying that if the creator of art (image, tactile, sound or whatever) is removed from the direct creation, this expression is dead – it has some relevance – as does a cut flower or a stuffed animal, but compared to the field of poppies or the running herd of deer – it is dead dead dead.

Take the analogy a little further – put a picture of a dead animal on a screen or print it in a book – it still conveys some feeling, but nothing to the emotion you may have seeing the dead child blasted by a bomb in Palestine on the floor in front of you.

Art and invention should be free for all who wish to share.

In a couple of previous posts I try to understand a little what virtue means. For me it is a word more attuned to what I feel is the essence of something created to be shared and which contains something more than just the depiction, or rendition of the painting, poem, tune or image offered to me, it contains some of the identity of the artist. At some point the creator of the work has directly touched or been intrinsically involved with the piece presented.

Somehow this essence of the artist is shown, or transmitted to be shared by others- perhaps this is why a live performance is more involving, more satisfying than a recording, print or digitised image, even though the copy may be technically, acoustically or perceptively more tangible.

The virtue of reality is intangible and how strange that virtual reality means something completely different, almost the opposite.