Life is Art

A few years ago I was teaching in NY and I took a group to MOMA (Museum of Modern Art).  I gave everyone an assignment:  Find one thing you really love and one thing you really hate.

When they returned I put everyone into groups of six and instructed them to take the group to see the thing they hated and the thing they loved.  It was surprisingly challenging for people.

Art evokes feelings, we are taught not to share those feelings.  Even more, sharing the things we like and hate simulates being an artist. As an artist we must show the world who we are, what is closest to who we are. We honor artists because we recognize the courage it takes to take a risk to show ourselves.

At MOMA there are some very dark images, a mirror for us of the shadowy side of ourselves.  There are also some beautiful things, a mirror for our beauty.

To show our shadow or our light is scary, we may be rejected, abandoned, laughed at, competed with, put down, or expected to do more.

This dynamic is operating every moment of your life.  Your life is your work of art no matter what you do.  Exactly how you choose to live and what you do is your expression of life and a message to everyone.