Take my oil painting to the professional level.
This page is dedicated to the journey I will take in pursuit of these goals.
I have found our culture sorely lacking in art that inspires and uplifts. It would seem that every “artist” among us today is so wrought with pain that they cannot even raise their heads from the mire of their own dysfunctions; let alone elevate society with their contributions. That is not to say that expressing pain is wrong; for it is through an Artist honestly expressing their pain, and offering Truth’s solution as healing, that the rest of Society may progress.
The fact is, if a Society fails to produce artists that awaken the population to Truth, good as well as painful, then the Society is not one worth participating in. As it stands now our “Artists” are not merely failing to point out happy truths but even painful ones. They are so enwrapped in their own neurosis, unwilling to truly examine them and heal, that they are only producing lies. Lies about themselves, lies about pain, and lies about our Society. And we, the people, are enabling them.
Every time we look at their work and do not call out the lie, we are encouraging them to continue in their needless suffering, and to continue producing false works. We do this because we prefer the pain of lies to the hard work of healing. But that’s the beauty of art, it can be so poignant when it sheds light on the truth; and is powerful only when it does so.
Good Art should have a true message, of course, which the above does; however, Good Art should also follow the rules set down for that particular medium, which the above does not. As you can see, the meter runs rampant and irregular, and the rhyme refuses to flow. As a result, when you read this poem, you become agitated and disoriented. I am revising the above to allow it to blossom into a good work of art.
Today, our Society’s “Artists” produce works like the one above and present them as fully complete. After all, who needs rhyme and meter? Oh wait…THEY DO! If it doesn’t follow rhyme or meter, 999 times out of 1000, it isn’t a poem. So why do we let them get away with this? Ignorance of poetry? Perhaps. I’d say, more often than not, it is because our Society, at present, values giving everyone a “Participation” trophy, over encouraging gifted people to produce life sustaining truth.
You see, our Society is AFRAID of success; AFRAID of the extraordinary. Let us not be these people. Let us demand excellence and perfection. It is not unattainable. To that end, I will be re-posting the revised version of this poem next Friday at midnight.
Please feel free to comment with critiques and/or thoughts. I encourage discussion.