Artists are like gods

Just like the gods who have the supernatural powers to make plenty out of scarcity, artists have the ability to create with their imagination what captures their audience’s attention

ART | DOMINIC MUWANGUZI | Have you ever looked at a work of art and found yourself wondering what was the artist thinking of when they created it or how did they create it, anyway? If you have, then you have come closer to understanding and embracing the power of artists. Artists are like gods because they have the power to create the extraordinary. Just like the gods who have supernatural powers to make plenty out of scarcity or light out of darkness, artists have the ability to create with their imagination what captives their audience’s attention. Michelangelo’s mural paintings in the Sestine Chapel have until to date confounded the eyes and minds of art historians on how he was able to execute them. It is said, that he painted them while standing on scaffolds but how he was able to perform this herculean task is still a mystery worldwide. Similarly, Leonardo Da Vinci painting of Mona Lisa-one of the most popular paintings of all times- is still a marvel to many art aficionados. The small painting combines elements of science, art, architecture and naturalism into one to present a mysterious subject that stares at us with her enigmatic smile.

Artists like gods find a lot of ease in what they do and while many people may get astonished by their sheer fluidity in expressing themselves on canvas or any other material, they’re not. They actually don’t think about it and when they’ve finished their master piece, they will seamlessly move to their next project. This is what exactly distinguishes real artists from the crowd of masqueraders with a paint brush and canvas. In fact, not everyone who enjoys the identity of an artist is an artist. Many struggle with the concept of making art and this is much visible in the amateurish application of color on canvas or repetitive and clumsy execution of ideas which renders their art devoid of emotions. Someone who paints wild animals roaming the savannah plains, African rural sceneries or beach sceneries with half naked women strutting their bodies is honestly not an artist. The camera can capture this and there is certainly nothing unusual about such mundane compositions. Conversely, someone who paints their life experiences presented in a well thought out conceptual form which provoke the imagination and thinking of the viewer has the credentials of an artist. Here, the thought process of the artist is the most critical aspect of their creation because it is what lures the viewer to the art and not necessarily the message which is often abstracted.

It is unlikely that artists are not critical thinkers through their creative process. The concept of critical thinking involves questioning, analyzing and examining and through these tenets the artist affords themselves the privilege to connect with their spiritual self. The spiritual realm where the gods inhabit is what empowers them to the status of the supernatural. If artists are generally understood to create from their subconscious, this therefore means they like gods posses supernatural characteristics which facilitate them to create the extraordinary. Both Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci undoubtedly had supernatural attributes which often manifested during their art making process. Michelangelo would spend endless hours painting murals in the high dome shaped ceiling of the chapel often leaning his body back and forth to achieve the complex character of the frescos while Leonardo’s visionary quality envisaged through his earliest exploration of the relationship between art, science and architecture marked him as a genius. By virtue of their hallowed identity, it is difficult to replicate whatever they produced even after thousands of years. Equally, like their names their art has stood a taste of time just like the gods who continuously live in our midst.

Artists are like gods because they create the extraordinary and supersede our understanding of life. While ordinary human beings are preoccupied by the perennial need to survive, artists on the other hand, are obsessed with finding meaning in life through their art making processes. This relentless pursuit is a conduit to research, explore new possibilities for their art in as much as invent fresh approaches to the dull reality of life.