Art, Science, and Sociology

Art and science are essentially the same. They both observe life and both ask the question "what happens if I/we do this". Both are sociological and have sway in the direction they lead. Art deals with the internalities of a person by manifesting a representation externally. What and how one does this also has an impact on the individual and society. What is the art supporting? The words "Blissed Out sense of Calm" come to me as I look at the art on my walls, the "Empowerment" spiral, "Particle Breath Energy", and the mandalas.
In a beautiful address to freshman at the Boston conservatory, Karl Paulnack spoke about how artists are more like surgeons and firefighters, and that one night "at 8:00pm someone is going to walk into your concert hall and bring you a mind that is confused, a heart that is overwhelmed, a soul that is weary. Whether they go out whole again will depend partly on how well you do your craft".
The book Free Play, by Stephen Nachmanovitch, sheds light on the beginnings of composition. Originally, the great artists were all improvisors, and a show could never be reproduced. The fact is, artists have not stopped being improvisors. It is the beginning of how anything is created. I can only further explain the “how” of my own experience. I sit down (or sometimes stand or dance) with an intention such as an image of grattitude, I breathe, wait, and listen. Sometimes an image is presented in my mind, and other times I allow it to flow as I manifest. I listen for where certain colors, lines, ect. should be placed. There is not a voice speaking in my head, simply instinct, and self-trust. This experience, again, stems from a similar place as science: ask a question and watch. Await, follow, and observe what manifests. Sometimes it is fabulous and it speaks to me completely, and sometimes I do not understand and/or it may not have been what I was looking for. Also, like scientists (although they may not always wish to admit it) artists have some biases for outcome. The best way to handle it is to allow for what the result is and if it is fab, its fab, and if it’s a plop, well plop happens and that’s okay too. Creativity is abundance. It is an unlimited supply of ingenuity. Actually, all there is is creating. Really, read this type, there isn’t anything except creating, except non-existance, and that does not exist:-) Part of being an artist (and this includes everyone, even if you think you don’t have a creative hair on your body) is realizing this and being empowered by it to be more consciously engaged with life. A conscious exploration and molding of living and being. It is delving into the unseen, the temporarily unconscious world, and having an intention. It is a treasure hunt!
Furthermore, one of the ties of sociology and art is the application of meaning. Everyday, everyone applies meaning to everything (okay maybe not everything). It is one of the mechanisms that develops interactions and culture. And applying meaning to things or refraining from doing so, is an art. And it is one of the reasons why some people become frustrated with modern and post-modern art. Sometimes modern art does not mean anything, it could be about the medium its self, and sometimes it does mean something and requires audience engagment. All arts are the study of “morphology”, what happens when we/I do this and what does this mean on the micro and macro scale.