Enjoy Art and Discover Yourself Through Practice

Art is everywhere around the world. Through our five senses, it can be seen, heard, touched, tasted, or smelled. You can read it in books, magazines, or newspapers; Listen to it on the radio or your MP3 player; Watch it on TV or in a Museum; or Experience it through practice, Wear as a cloth, Eaten as very expensive meal in Gastronomic Restaurant, Breath or Simply smell as a perfume.

Whether alone or in a group, we use our senses and techniques to engage with art in its many forms. It is also a way to express ourselves differently.

It’s a way to express our emotions and to show who we are; expressing our vision of life at a given moment.

But we have to be careful; art can be tricky; sometimes acting like shamanism, taking us into alternative worlds where reality can be misleading.

As we sometimes say in French, “Voir sa vie comme une œuvre d’art peut jouer des tours“, meaning “Viewing our own life as a work of art can play tricks to ourself“. it’s good to remind it sometimes.

Categories of Art

Subcategories of art are often defined as follows:

1. Architecture
2. Sculpture
3. Painting
4. Music
5. Literature, including poetry and prose
6. The performing arts, including dance and theatre
7. Film and cinema
8. “Media Art”, including radio, television, and photography
9. Comics
10. Video games, or digital art forms more generally^[4]

According to Wikipedia, there is still no agreement on what qualifies as the “11th art.” Debates about what does and does not count as art continue to this day.

There is also ongoing discussion about the classification of “major” and “minor” arts. For example, French musician Serge Gainsbourg famously publicly challenged this distinction.

Gainsbourg once illustrated his position by playing two songs on the piano to highlight a difference in style, implicitly questioning the validity of categorizing one form as superior to another.

(Note: the terms “Major” and “Minor” may not have been appropriate, as they imply a hierarchy or value judgement, which can be misleading in this context.)

Still, Gainsbourg may have been right in drawing attention to the difference between musical styles, while also reminding us to be careful with such categorization and hierarchy.

Art, Irony, and Cultural Commentary

Artist Claude Nougaro responded to Gainsbourg with his song Art Mineur, possibly referencing Gainsbourg’s ideas; and doing so with irony.

In this song, Nougaro jokes that Gainsbourg was now drinking a “Better Alcohol” on the other side of the river; possibly a nod to Gainsbourg’s controversial persona, also known as “Gainsbarre” during his career, a wordplay on his more provocative public image.

The symbolic division, with the river representing two different sides is central to the song’s theme of Claude Nougaro.

Nougaro followed Gainsbourg’s idea of comparing art forms as ‘minor’ or ‘major,’ but used humour and irony to comment on it, perhaps also highlighting Gainsbourg’s controversial personality.

Today, we are more likely to use the term “mainstream” rather than “major” or “minor” to describe cultural products. This is a more suitable term, as it doesn’t imply hierarchy or value. Mainstream status can change over time and is shaped by culture, society, and trends.

Art is dynamic; like flowing water, it exists everywhere around us, constantly moving like a river toward the ocean

Art Culture as a Pillar of Resistance

During World War II, when faced with the rise of totalitarianism and anti-Semitism, someone asked Winston Churchill if the government should cut cultural spending to support the War effort.

Churchill famously responded:
“What would be the point to fight if we stop the culture ?“

This quote reminds us that Culture is not a luxury, but a necessity; a foundation of freedom, identity, and humanity.

The Culture of Crafting in the UK

In the UK, there is a strong and visible Crafting culture. It exists not only in homes, but also in Workplaces, through clubs and hobby groups.

Shops such as Hobby Craft offer people the tools and materials to pursue a wide range of creative activities from painting and Knitting to Model-making and Scrap booking.

These spaces and tools help people reconnect with themselves through creativity, offering Relaxation, Focus, and Joy.

This website can be seen as sort of Craft Book, Word-press is a very-good tool to explore permitting to exposed what you want to share on-line. (Link)