How do artistic people see life?

Question

I read that artists draw well because they see things differently than logical people. So how do they percieve life? Does that mean they look at life in a negative aspect. What is the difference between being artistic and being mentally ill

Answer 1

"I read that artists draw well because they see things differently than logical people."

If true, that statement must mean that you are a brilliant artist, because it is one of the most illogical things that I've read in quite awhile.

Not every artist is a Leonardo da Vinci. (Heard of him? Artist? Inventor? Engineer? Scientist? Genius?) That doesn't mean however that they are some kind of retarded idiot savants.

I think that your poor reading comprehension is at the base of your misconceptions. Some people are definitely more aware than others. They perceive more of the world around them, and make more connections between what they see, hear, and feel, and what they've observed in the past. Some become artists, some become scientists, a few become both, and some become neither.

Describing human potential and ability in terms of left-brain/right-brain hemispheric dominance is an oversimplification. Human beings need both sides of their brains to function normally, and those who excel at using both of them are able to realize their full potential. It's not a case of "Us" and "Them," it's a matter of degree.

How do you classify people who are neither very artistic, nor appreciably logical, in accordance with your false dichotomy?

One of the gifts of having an artistic spirit is possessing a sense of wonder - of feeling amazement and joy at the universe and the world around oneself. Does that sound negative, or mentally ill?

Young children are natural artists, it's only when they get older and succumb to peer pressure about what art is "good" and what art is "bad" that so many of them set down their paints, clay, and crayons out of socially-induced shame. Does that mean, according to your reasoning, that young children are all mentally ill?

I think that you might need to sit down with a couple of those book thingies again, and find out a little more about what constitutes true mental illness. Maybe you could brush up on your logic while you're at it, too. Then grab some clay or colored pencils or something and give your inner child a chance to have fun again. Use both sides of your brain, and everything in between.

Answer 2

Some of the answers say that artist look at things and mentally break them down in a way to draw them. Well, there's more to art and an artist's mind then that.

There are some technical artists and then there are the intellectual ones. Some artists are probably the greatest intellectual minds to grace the planet. The idea behind Diego Velazquez's "Las Meninas" is an example of what I mean.

Artists can step back and see things for what they are. They can see through a lot of BS and see the nature in things. They can relate to different things and relate different things to each other.

It's not all about line and color and compositions. Artists use art as an extension of who they are and what they see, feel, and think.

Answer 3

Bree thinks that artists are overly positive? Heh heh hehhh...

I don't think so. I've been an artist my whole life. I don't know if it's just me, but I've never really fit in with most people. I had a weird outlook on life. I got into serious advanced art classes in high school and then into art college and a lot of the kids in there were like me..anti-social in a way, quiet or quirky, and not at all positive. Alot of us are dark (it sounds silly) but we see the world in a more painful way, we notice details and...wow, this sounds like total crap. Haha. I don't really know how to explain it. I'm not depressed, but the world really isn't a beautiful place like people say. The best art comes from ugliness. Real art isn't pretty. It envokes emotion, which is usually easiest to bring out of someone using shock or disgust, I guess?

Hm..and don't call artists illogical please. I am the same as you, I just use a different side of my brain. ; )
Oh yeah, and I'm not mentally ill, because I know the difference between cutting my ear off because I'm sad and just crying into my pillow to feel better. *wink*

Answer 4

Many questions. First, there are many different kinds of artists. Secondly, there is an art to anything. Thus anything said about artists as a group is a generalization and quite frankly, a stereotype.

As an artist, I am capable of being just as logically as any 'logical people'. If fact, many artists are logical to a fault. I believe one is capable of overwhelming passion & just reasoning.

I could write a valiant dissertation about the way I perceive life, but I will save you the self-indulgence. Although a dissertation my provide you with an insight into the insatiable desire for passion & creation that many artists share, including myself.

As for the 'negative aspect' question, it doesn't seem to me that this question warrants a response. Just look at some the world's most reknown artists' work and tell me with a straight face that artists generally have a negative perception of life.

The difference between the artistic and the 'mentally ill' is that artists willingly plunge into the depths of mystery, for the sake of understanding. The mentally ill sink against their will, it is their struggle against the mystery that allows for them to be perceived as thus. This is not to say that artists do not struggle, every one does so. That is the nature of life.

Answer 5

personally, i think what makes a good artist is his ability to conjure up with something that gives a fresh look on everything and anything to his audience. what i deem as good art is something that is created with lots of thought and feelings about the matter. this will pass on to the audience and evoke feelings in them.

Hence, it helps if artists are experimental, and creative at looking at things differently. make the familiar strange, in other words.

logical people are typically those who take things around them for granted (that's a bold statement)... they are used to the social norms and go about looking at things, assuming that everyone sharing the same ideology will also share the same view. i'm not saying that logical people cannot appreciate art, nor am i saying that artists are illogical. logical ppl can appreciate by being open and respect an alternative view and by reading the artists' synopsis or abstract on their work. on the other hand,since artists reflect or challenge the common ideology, they seem to deviate from the norm, which makes them "weird"

depression is also a very seductive emotion that evokes alot of mixed feelings and provokes alot of thoughts. depression also triggers a new way of looking at life. i remember reading a statement in my psych textbook that artists tend to be depressed and subconsciously choose to be. dr gray stated that, like many creative people composer Robert Schumann suffered from a mood disorder and his best works were done in his severe depressed periods.

Answer 6

They tend to think outside the box. They think with their right brain and more abstractly. Some people who are very creative are mentally ill however creativity and mentally ill do not go hand and hand. Many artist are overly positive (ever seen a Kincaid?) while others use art to work out their inner demons and those are dark.
Every artist is unique and not mentally ill. Being mentally ill can range from anxiety and depression to mania and delusions. Some people with serious mental illness use art to express what they are going through.
So, the are not one in the same. Art is expression. Not an illness.

Answer 7

As incredibly interesting. Everything holds varying degrees of fascination for me. My brain stores all of the info I greedily suck up with my eyes and everything I see is a potential model in a painting or drawing.
I was always a square peg in a world full of round holes. I learned to like my uniqueness and enjoy my solitude. I also found others like me. You may not like what I produce as artwork, but it is truly from my soul - a piece of me. And usually someone will see something magical and worth purchasing in it. It is a tough type of person to be sometimes as a young person, but now in my middle-ages I wouldn't be anything else. The world is infinitely beautiful and it does some kind of physical call to my body! It pulls me and involves me and I feel a strange combination of agony and ecstasy when I am producing art. I feel alive!

Answer 8

An artistic life taking advantage of technical media.

Answer 9

I find personally I look at objects and slowly start to disect them as to what shape's made the object up.. eg, if I look at a stereo, on first glance that is what I see, but If I look at it for a few minutes I find myself breaking each part of the stereo into a series of shapes as I would If I were to draw it, also I take things like perspective into acount aswell... when It come to colour I dont find myself saying "Wow" that is a pretty blue colour wall, rather I am thinking why did they paint the wall that colour, (was it to stand out or blend in with it's surroundings, did the peron who painted the wall want this room to convey a certain mood etc..) I think artist's maybe look at the world with a keener eye to detail and a series of questions about each object for themselves to answer about why it is the way it is or if it is purposely there to convey a feeling, message etc.

Answer 10

sane or mentally ill everyone sees or interprets life differently its the way they express life or themselves that would make someone seem or be artistic or mentally ill.