What is Art, Then?

Art is more than what we marvel at. And here's what your art could look like.

Hello lovely reader,

I was out this morning with a dear friend, spending time roaming the streets nearby. We were pleasantly surprised to witness the last day of this year’s Festa Major de Poblenou.

In Barcelona, every area has an annual Festa Major, a festival which brings together the entire neighbourhood for parades, art demonstrations, workshops, food, drinks, and much more. Residents create the art that is displayed at the festival and if you’re lucky, you’ll catch them making these pieces in real time.

Barcelona also has a tradition of hosting parades of giants (called Gegants in Catalan). It started in 1424 with Goliat, the first gegant. Despite their origins in religion, the figures gained a fun and totally festive meaning over the years. Little did we know that Poblenou’s Festa Major would have a parade of giants too!

I recorded some glimpses for you below, and I hope you enjoy them.

As I watched the giants’ parade and the people enjoying them in the streets with their children, I couldn’t help but wonder: Is art only what we create or see around us?

Consider this before you answer:

To a parent, their child is the most beautiful of all children. They are like works of art with pieces of both parents brought together like a unique puzzle.

Ask a lover, and they’ll say their beloved is a work of art. Handcrafted to perfection from the eyelashes, to the lines on their lips, and the lilt of their voice.

To a believer, connecting with the divine is the most wonderful art. They close their eyes and witness divinity.

Bold people use their bodies as a canvas and tattoo it with words and images. They become walking, living, and breathing pieces of art.

Musicians give us lyrics and tunes, and books full of vivid poetry and prose are left behind by writers—moving us to tears and bringing a smile on our lips on days where there seems to be no hope at all.

I would argue that the sheer ecstasy of connection with another being is art in itself. Connection shapes our thoughts and feelings, and these, in turn, shape what we give birth to with our ideas, hands, and tools. In other words, we take what is outside of us, mix it with our emotions and thoughts, and produce something to share with the world.

Like the giants created by residents in Barcelona for centuries, art has kept society going by illustrating what is important to us at a certain moment in time. It is a direct representation of the wave of emotions we experience in our connection with other (human) beings and the world we live in.

Art also gives us a stage to demonstrate what we missed out and want to see more of in the world. And it has the power to reflect how we think, both as an individual and the society we live in, by the changes it lobbies for and what we chose to expose on canvas.

Art stuns us with its bold colours and forms of expression, sometimes creating a ruckus before a change is brought on. Just look at works by Banksy and other artists who are known to bring ideas to life through eye-catching yet uncomplicated methods and mediums. Street artists are no less capable: you’ll see impactful graffiti in places where you least expect it. The question isn’t so much about what a piece of art is saying as much as what are we seeing and learning through it. That’s why art and reflection go hand in hand.

Similarly, we are creating our life as we speak even when others don’t see it. We get so concerned by what others think and may think of us, and build a life around it at times. You may believe that art is outside of you and means creating pieces that belong in a museum or on someone’s wall. Social media makes us feel this way through the comparison window it creates.

What truly matters, however, is the life you create within four walls. Every action and every interaction is proof of your art and its impact. When you deeply reflect on life, you’ll see how some places need more of your art—the areas that need more brushstrokes or paint to cover chips and cracks that occurred over time.

Thought For the Week

What if you could see everything you do in life as art?

• Take your relationships as art, for example. It means you would invest in maintaining them and making people feel cherished. You’d hold hands like they were precious and wouldn’t hurt hearts. You’d be told how much family members look up to you, and how much you mean to them.

• If you were to see your work as art, you’d give it your all and work like it meant something to you and others. You’d consider leaving a legacy with that impression you create in any capacity. It’s why you remember that waiter who served you at a particular restaurant years ago, for example.

• And if you could see life itself as art, you’d have the chance to live it in HD: you’d chase your dreams regardless of how old you are, live on your own terms, and keep your mind and body in good health.

We can all create art and it has nothing to do with what’s on stage, in a book, on the streets, or in a museum. This week, I hope you consider making your life a piece of art. Rest assured that it will leave a legacy of its own, because that’s what art does; it speaks volumes about us in our absence.

With gratitude,

Raksha