Dear Creative Community,
Geneticist Mary Clare King (no relation) was asked in an interview on NPR “What is the purpose of science?”
She replied, “Two things: 1. to satisfy intellectual curiosity. 2. To be useful.”
I believe that this applies to art.
What is the purpose of Art?
To satisfy creative curiosity.
To be useful.
One recent afternoon, I had the pleasure of viewing the work of Anni Albers (1899-1994) on display at the Mt. Holyoke Art Museum. An accomplished weaver from the Bauhaus, she wished to be a painter, but began studying textiles because it was the only department open to women. Weaving turned out to satisfy her creative curiosity and also proved to be quite useful. One of her projects was to design a curtain that could both absorb sound and reflect light. She notes, “a good designer…sends [her] products to a useful life.”
Albers took up printmaking later in her artistic career. The compositions and colors have direct influence from her weaving work. A tangible reminder that the art we created now plants seeds and grows our future work.
Gunta Stolzl’s weaving.
Albers’ colleague, Gunta Stolzl, was also a weaver. (Designers, you may recognize her surname from a lovely typeface by her name from the Inhouse Type Foundry.) Stolzl also created a body of illustrations and paintings. Stolzl’s journey from weaving to illustration reminds us that there is a story in every piece of work. Indeed, Stolzl wrote and illustrated a trio of children’s books for the sole purpose of delighting her children and grandchild.
Gunta Stolzl, Book for Yael, 1934.
With Stolzl’s sun child as my inspiration and with the winter sun ever more important in these dark winter days, I painted seven suns. This is a reminder that when it is cold and dark, take a moment to breathe deeply and cherish the sun’s rays.
What is the purpose of art? This dip into the past work of two extraordinary artists and a present moment of gratitude for the sun, feed my creative curiosity.
And I hope you find it useful too.
Be creative!
Mary