Art Supplies, Prints, and Posters

What is it to be an artist? Is it to be poor in your time, only finding one’s rightful place post mortem? Is it to wander the echelons of society, a beggar at the tables of the mighty, hoping for a consignment? Is it to be misunderstood and maligned? There are many artists who have done all of these things, but these “things” are not what makes them artists.

To be an artist is to inspire. It can be many things to many people, but inspiration is the muse after which an artist seeks, for themselves in the production of a piece, and for a piece to communicate to the world. The inspiration an artist seeks can be difficult to find, and the toil involved ennobles the pursuit of the arts
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It is an irony of this life that all the inspiration in the world does no good without the implements to put it into action. Every artist needs supplies, and every medium demands tools. A painter needs canvass, paints, a pallet, and brushes. A sculptor needs clay or stone to work with, and hammers, chisels, trowels, or other implements to work it. A photographer needs a camera, film, and paper for the prints. All of them need a workshop to work in.

Digital artists work in an entirely new spectrum of media. They can take a photo and turn it into a surreal vision of the impossible. They work in bytes, and their work is available online. They are the latest development in art, the newest chapter in a story that stretches back further that metalworking, painting, sculpting, a story that began before there were words to tell it.

The first art was created on the walls of caves. The artists are unknown to us today, but some of their work survives them. The pictures found there are a curious blend of art and attempts at language. They tell a story, more literally than many art pieces today. Nomadic life is depicted by these artists. Following the herds, protecting their tribe from predators and the elements, the cycles that made up the years, all these things are found on the cave walls.

Years, centuries, or millennia after these pictures were drawn; language and writing were invented to take on the task of effectively communicating ideas from person to person. Yet rather than render art obsolete, they allowed it to redouble its efforts at inspiration. Much of the best art from ancient times and even up to the present is religious art. What better inspiration for beauty than God, after all? Ancient temples were showcases of sculptor’s skill. They were also probably filled with beautiful paintings and urns, but only the buildings themselves and a few bits of sculpture have withstood the ravages of time.

But art does not have to be about religion, sometimes the common themes of man present a powerful inspiration in and of themselves. War, love, and loss are all inspiration for some of the greatest works of our time.

Monuments to fallen heroes are everywhere, and among the most recognizable art pieces anywhere. The Taj Mahal, Lincoln Memorial, and Tomb of the Lost Soldier are all monuments dedicated to people now dead, but a picture of them is instantly recognizable. That is the true mark of a great work of art.

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