telling a story

i hung out with a few people over at bob and lauren's last night...and at one point we were talking about Bob's "previous" life as a DJ...and he said something that i really liked:

"a good artist knows how to tell a story so that others can understand it, so that others can relate to it."

and this is simple, but profound. taking whatever medium and telling a story with it. there are a lot of artists out there that tell a story that no one can relate with and they get upset because no one can identify with it. (i'm paraphrasing the great words of bob brown) And then there are artist who are still being genuine, still producing art that is real and raw, but they tell it in a way that people can find meaning in it, can understand it.

i think this is a great way to look at artist...instead of criticizing someone's painting on whether you think it is "good art" or even art at all, you look at it and ask what story they are trying to tell and look for meaning in that story. it makes you look at things in a different light. it makes you appreciate different styles and forms of art that you normally wouldn't stop and listen to.