what moves you?

I love the discussion of "what moves you" in reference to artistic elements. After a lunch-and-learn at a contemporary art gallery today, I found myself engaged in several conversations about the exhibit we saw. (We, being a handful of coworkers that walked over to the gallery with me during the lunch hour.)

We took a tour of Artpace - that believes "art is a dynamic social force that inspires individuals and defines cultures." And I would have to agree. This gallery is only a few block from our agency and offers a monthly brown-bag lunch for a new exhibit or conversation. Today we had the pleasure of viewing a unique body of work: The artist is Kate Gilmore and she currently does performanced-based videos. In the gallery's words:

"Kate Gilmore’s performance-based videos depict the artist working through a series of self-imposed challenges. Her tragicomic situations suggest the futility of personal and cultural ritual as they bring to the foreground issues of feminine identity and fear of success. Her endeavors are physically challenging and often seem dangerous."

In a short, she has placed herself in situations that represent difficult struggles in life, both literally and metaphorically, primarily as a woman. No one is around while she attempts to complete the task or obstacle -- just a camera set up to capture the rawness of the events. Honestly, you have to actually see it to fully understand. The point I would like to make, is that it moved me. After watching the full length of these videos (ranging from 11 min to 48 min), I understood and felt the pain, dedication and at times desperation she went through on these representative tasks.

While they were visual illustrations of... building a pyramid of sofas and chairs one story tall to simple climb to the roof, all by herself I might add... constructing a very shallow wooden tunnel with the front more narrow than the back and wiggling herself through to the end... or placing her foot in a bucket of plaster, letting it dry and then hammering it off... they are all very odd tasks representing an end goal in life: trying to 'make it to the top,' 'learning how to 'fit in,' or getting stuck and trying to 'break yourself out of the situation.' The great outcome is that she filmed these events in private, with her full struggle captured and not preformed.

Now... you're reading this and I bet most of your are saying, that's not art. But I will beg to differ, my friend. It all comes down to what I have said before: an artist's goal is to convey the world around them as they see it, where the options are limitless. She chose a camera and her body as the medium. I often chose a canvas and paint. But she still moved me in a way where I honestly felt her purpose. I understand the metaphors she made and I appreciate them. It is raw. It is simple. And it drives the point home. It's not traditional art, it's contemporary art. And never the less, it is definitely art.

Now this is where I had fun... some people that actually saw the show didn't understand it. It didn't 'speak' to them. And I think that is okay. Not all forms of art speak to everyone. But I ask that people are open to the idea of different artistic expressions. And most people I went with were. Even if they did not like it, I think they respected it in a sense -- or at least I hope they are mature enough to do so.

In the end, I do not think you have to enjoy the artistic expression to appreciate it. And respect it. I was pleasantly surprised to be moved by this body of work. And so I wonder... what moves you?