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"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." I think that is the whole beauty of creation, the freedom to make, including mistakes. And, I will go further to interpret the 'which to keep' as which mistakes to keep. I think most of art is about the mistakes. If it were about being perfect, why would we love to look at it, discuss it, think about it? Even with the advent of the camera, and now all the 'easy technology' that allows us to 'perfectly preserve' images & other 'things' the world is drawn to the 'less than perfect' forms of art. Look at the enormous popularity of DIY crafts, of 'primitive' and folk art. None of those forms are about perfection at all. In fact, the charm is in the flaws, the fact that the piece looks 'handmade' not part of mass-produced-perfection. While 'real' artists, no matter the form they use, are always 'perfecting' their craft, they seem to be striving for the best way to communicate. And what they have to say is often in no way related to 'perfection.' Think of your favorite works of art, or the hand crafted items you buy (or long to!)... Are they about perfection? Or about something else... Of course, art is all about the response, and that will vary from person to person, so I could be completely nuts. But I think any one who creates will tell you it is about the process as much as the piece created, and that the piece says more than 'hey, look, my ends are perfect right angles' or 'look, I am symmetrical no matter how you cut me!' 'Perfection' then in the art-sense, is about how 'perfectly' the piece conveys the message. Which leads me to a debate I had in college with our art professor... We were in your basic art history 101, and listing the top or best art examples & why they were considered such. Of course, the Venus statue (ou know, the marble chick, with the missing arms) was supposed to be one... I debated that she *not* be on the list because she was found in a pile of the artist's garbage, discarded by the artist. If the artist found her lacking, than she was not conveying the 'feeling' or 'message' that he wished, therefore, she was not 'art' or at the very least, not 'one of the all-time best examples.' This, of course, threw the whole class into a debate of what is really art... is it what the viewer sees, despite how the creator feels about it? If the artist/creator feels it is not 'right' should that be the final say on it? Is art about the process, and not about the final 'result?' Or is it the mere fact that some 'work' elicits a response? Large questions. In my opinion, we all worry to much about the validity of what we create. Many of us don't have creative hobbies, or learn new ones, because we are afraid of making mistakes. Many of us, don't like to show what we have made, because we fear the reactions of others. And I say that 'perfectionistic' attitude needs to stop. I love the whole 'DIY' movement simply because it is Do-It-Yourself. Because it does more than allow us the chance to try, but because it encourages mistakes! Some of my most treasured things are those things I made which are goofy, or 'wrong.' Like a mother who posts her child's art on the fridge, it isn't about the perfection, it is about the effort. That and the beauty of a soul trying.
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