If so many other people 'have been there', 'done that'...?

Question

Why are artists compelled to express? if there is nothing new under the sun.....why do we join in and say it some more???

Answer 1

Artists are compelled to express their inner vision which has nothing to do with other people who have been anywhere or done anything whether there is "anything new under the sun" or not.

That's why some of us love artists !

Answer 2

Because there are just too many empty t-shirts out there! (Joke!)

I am a professional artist (full-time), so I feel that I should submit MY answer! Just because people have expressed things before doesn't mean that they can't be expressed again - sometimes even better! Past ideas and concepts and expressions lead to new ideas and concepts and expressions which in turn lead to new ideas and concepts and expressions...... Art evolves as humanity evolves....

Civilization/people/'we' would never move forward if we took the attitude of 'been there, done that!" to heart. Where would we be if Alexander Graham Bell had that attitude - no telephone, therefore no voice communications over long distances, therefore no need for data transmissions - first by fax and later by email and the internet - therefore, you would never have been able to ask your question! And I would not be typing this response...

From an economic viewpoint, old art/antiques/expressions are in a limited supply so there is a much greater demand than there is supply (I studied economics at University - very boring - just made me want to become an artist!). This supply shortage is evidenced by the HUGE amounts of money people are willing to pay for art - whether for the original work or even for poor reproductions/copies of them. It would be a VERY boring world if no one had anything beside Van Gogh's Starry Night, Da Vinci's Mona Lisa and other 'been there' works of art to put on their walls(or, in the absence of their various reproductions, nothing at all.....) There is money to be made in self-expression - why else is Hollywood such a thriving industry?

You yourself were 'compelled to express' yourself by asking a question that is reliant upon someone else's expression (the cliche that you based your question on). As an artist, I am just doing the same as you - proving that I exist!

Answer 3

Everyone is unique & so their experiences & their individual expression are different. Everyone (well most of us) fall in love. But we don't all have identical experiences. I feel love differently from you. My style of writing (& painting) are also undoubtedly different from yours. So I can still create a unique work based on my experience that would be nothing like you would create.

Yes we are all in the same world, breathing the same air & experiencing many of the same emotions, experiences, but we each respond differently. Some people may look at the sunrise & think "that's pretty," some may not even notice it or care, others may feel humbled by the exquisite beauty of light coming into the world and may feel uplifted, as though they've seen the face of God...so we each get to have our own experience even in the same event.

An artist with talent will take the oldest topics in the world & make them new with their eloquent expressions, personal details, unique observations & wise insights.

Answer 4

I hear what you say. I'm a song writer/recording artist, and it's not like I have the talent of people like Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney or Billy Joel (for examples).

Unless I'm writing an instrumental song, it's always interesting to see where the inspiration will come from for the lyrics and how the song will turn out; sort of like a sculpture from a block of stone.

Finding a "new" way to express age old emotions is always a challenge.

Answer 5

It's human nature to be excited about something the first time YOU do it. It doesn't necessarily mean others feel the same way.

Try it some time. Go to Europe. If it's you're first time, you'll feel a rush before you even land. And when you taxi into the city, you'll be hob-knobbing with a million people who aren't excited at all because they've "been there" a long time.

Answer 6

Because it's also about a new way of experiencing the mundane or the surreal. It's about a point of view. Everyone could have experienced the same phenomenon, but they do not experience it the same way. Great artists can take something as banal as time and make it new and different.

Answer 7

Because each experience is unique in it's own right. Just like there will never be two moments exactly like this one with the clock being exactly the time it is. No two experiences will ever be exactly alike, and it is within that differential that expression remains something new and creative.

Answer 8

Because everyone sees things from a slightly or even greatly different perspective..

Answer 9

We all deserve our 15 minutes of fame