Art As Experience
Is there sound if there are no ears to hear it? Is there art if there are no eyes to see it? Art does not exist apart from human experience. It is not created in a vacuum. Art is born of real-life experiences and world events that artists transform into paintings, sculptures, photographs, music, performances. But just looking at art is only a small part of what art has to offer. The complete picture of art can only be fully understood through experiencing it. Just as an artist is immersed in the creation work, when you experience art in person, all of your senses multiply together to a greater sum than just seeing it. Viewing art online is akin to never holding a flower and being able to inhale its fragrance.
Sam Gappmayer, president of the Peoria Riverfront Museum, said, “I’ve been thinking lately about how many of our experiences are mediated. Social media is important to stay connected, but there’s nothing like seeing my friend’s face in person and being able to reach out to him and to hear his voice. It’s really the same with art. Whether we are talking about music or the visual arts or the spoken word of a poet, there is nothing like being there and seeing and experiencing it unmediated.”
Engaging in an artistic expression transcends time and space. The visible strokes of the artist’s hand connect us over centuries or months to its creator. Works of art are a look through the eyes of another person. It is one way to feel more fully human. Seeing artwork in person also helps “literalize abstract concepts” Gappmayer says and “museums are good at contextualizing works of art,” helping the viewer understand what influenced the artist.
“The Riverfront Museum has a phenomenally broad mission. We have science, history, art, and accomplishment,” Gappmayer said. “I think what we have started to do successfully is to see how we can use all of those avenues to create a focus on an individual idea or concept that is touched by each of them. So rather than go see a great painting and be moved by it or visiting the planetarium and have your understanding broadened, we are exploring how we can use all aspects of the museum to broaden an idea.”
Gappmayer continued, “This fall we are borrowing from a website called Awkward Family Photos. They are goofy photographs and if you just leave it at that, it’s entertaining and it’s fun, but our hope and our plan is to take that theme and use it as a means to talk about social issues. By bringing in films, sociologists, and historians to talk about different elements related to families, we hope to use one piece of our programming as a springboard to address larger ideas and concepts,” Gappmayer said.
PHOTO BY DOUG LEUNIG
Oct. 20, 2012, was the grand opening for Peoria Riverfront Museum. To celebrate the event, the museum hosted the very first fine art exhibition of local artists in the “CIAO and Friends Invitational.” Many people credit this event with helping the explosion of interest in the arts in central Illinois.
Ultimately, that is the true value of art–as a springboard to the world. When we asked our Facebook friends what they think of when they hear the word art, Jodi Pshebelski responded, “If you want to be ‘moved,’ art will move you. If you don’t want to be ‘moved,’ it will move you. The arts have a way of getting to our depths… whether you are the creator or the consumer.”
We challenge each of you to get out and experience art and thankfully you have plenty of opportunities in the Peoria area. For detailed information, visit artspartners.net and check out the calendar of events including “Awkward Family Photos” displaying September 15 – November 15.
Every year, the last full weekend in September, the Peoria Riverfront becomes a live and in-person art gallery thanks to the Peoria Art Guild. You can experience the 53rd Annual Fine Art Fair this year on Sept 26 & 27.