Conceptualism, The Naked Guy, and Degrees

Conceptualism is among the most elusive forms of art. It leaves people with a lot of, "wtf" questions. Damien Hirst is not for everyone. For a long time, he wasn't for me, either! I don't agree with a slew of his practices. That said, because I walked the artistic path as long as I have, I inevitably arrived at conceptualism, albeit kicking and screaming, but with a new-found tolerance and comprehension for both Hirst and conceptualism.

To be honest, I felt the same way about pretty much every art form since teenagehood until I learned enough about each of them to comprehend their value, and they are valuable af! My initial instinct is to resist. Things have to prove themselves to me. Even art. And sometimes repeatedly.

Just like people, art has patterns... a wave of progression. As a kid, I was only about realism. Makes sense because that surface layer is the easiest to relate with so pretty much everyone understands that place. What you see is what you get and there's no confusion. In middle school, I was introduced to Georgia O'Keeffe's work. I fell in love! It was so different from the rest... soft, but badass. And to know that a woman artist had paved a way gave me hope in what seemed like a hopeless world for a teeny chick artist. Can't count how many times people said I could never be an artist due to my gender. Art was a man's world. Fuck off, dumbasses. (Are you beginning to see how I arrived at my language? lol)