For the Love of Art

 
Professor, Frank Foster (Lead Art professor of Victor Valley College, Victorville, California)

Imagine a world without art, without images. The ancient caves in Lascaux, France, would be empty. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican would be bare. We would only read about and not see the greatness of an emperor. There would be no such thing as a museum or gallery.

Imagine we had no artifacts linking the past with us now, teaching us our history. We would have no understanding of how our ancestors lived or loved, knowledge of emperors or kings, nations, power, or beliefs. The void would be immense. 

But because an artist either had an urge to create or was given a commission or was commanded, art does exist. The day, the moment, the minute that art was created, it gave a chance for someone to see it, comprehend it and treasure it.

Art is not just a pretty picture to hang somewhere in our home. It is a powerful communicative instrument. It allows us to travel back in time, across thousands of years. It lets us look into the mind of someone we will never meet but that we can understand by the images they created.

Consider this, I can look at a painting that van Gogh made and see his single brush strokes on a canvas. His hand held a brush, that he dipped in paint and applied to a canvas. This experience connects me to his mind and that moment he placed brush to canvas. It is an immense and powerful connection.

Art teaches us about how humankind, breaks through any barrier of time and links the mind of someone right now with the mind of the artist. I know of nothing else that is such a powerful teacher nor an experience more enriching. 

Personally, I have learned so much by standing in front of a work of art and by letting my eyes take it in. It cannot be momentary for me, I must give it a part of my life, a part of my time on this earth as the artist did his. I am traveling back in time to unite with the artist. We must connect and communicate. This in fact is the enjoyment of art and this is how one goes about exploring it and loving it.

As an artist, I hope when someone looks at my work that they are allowed to see this world through my eyes. I want them to notice what I saw. I believe that in life, it is the details that matter. I do try to let you see those details in the images I create. 

I consider that art outlives the artist and has the possibility of reaching the eyes of someone not yet born. Consider that art is eternal. 

In 2020, a team of Chinese researchers uncovered what may be the oldest known existence of art which is believed to have been created between 169,000 to 226,000 years ago. It is astounding to consider that as we look upon this art, we are able to connect with the mind of someone who lived so long ago. For that moment when we look at this ancient art, the mind of that ancient artist and our mind meet, unite and share something.

Frank Foster 

因為對藝術的熱愛... 

想像一個沒有藝術、沒有圖像的世界。法國拉斯科的古老洞穴將是空的。梵蒂岡西斯廷教堂的天花板將是光禿禿的。我們只會閱讀而不會看到皇帝的偉大。不會有博物館或畫廊之類的東西。 

想像一下，我們現在沒有將過去與我們聯繫起來的文物，告訴我們我們的歷史。我們將無法了解我們的祖先如何生活或戀愛，也不了解皇帝或國王、國家、權力或信仰。虛空將是巨大的。 

但是因為藝術家要么有創作的衝動，要么被委託或被命令，藝術確實存在。藝術被創造出來的那一天、那一刻、那一刻，它給了人們一個機會去看到它、理解它並珍惜它。 

藝術不僅僅是掛在我們家某處的漂亮照片。它是一種強大的交流工具。它使我們能夠穿越數千年的時間回到過去。它讓我們深入了解一個我們永遠不會見面的人的思想，但我們可以通過他們創造的圖像來理解。 

考慮到這一點，我可以看到梵高創作的一幅畫，並看到他在畫布上的單筆筆觸。他的手拿著一把刷子，他把它蘸上顏料，然後塗在畫布上。這次經歷將我與他的思想聯繫起來，那一刻他將畫筆放在畫布上。這是一個巨大而強大的聯繫。 

藝術教會我們人類如何突破任何時間的障礙，將當下某人的思想與藝術家的思想聯繫起來。我不知道還有什麼比這更強大的老師，也沒有比這更豐富的經驗。 

就我個人而言，站在一件藝術品面前，讓我的眼睛接受它，我學到了很多。這對我來說不是一時的，我必須把它作為我生活的一部分，我在這個地球上的一部分時間正如藝術家所做的那樣。我正在回到過去與藝術家聯合。 我們必須聯繫和溝通。這實際上是對藝術的享受，這就是人們探索和熱愛藝術的方式。 

作為一名藝術家，我希望當有人看到我的作品時，他們可以通過我的眼睛看到這個世界。我希望他們注意到我所看到的。我相信在生活中，重要的是細節。我確實嘗試讓您在我創建的圖像中看到這些細節。 

我認為藝術比藝術家更長壽，並且有可能進入尚未出生的人的眼睛。認為藝術是永恆的。

2020 年，一組中國研究人員發現了可能是已知最古老的藝術存在，據信它是在 169,000 至 226,000 年前創造的。令人震驚的是，當我們看到這種藝術時，我們能夠與生活在很久以前的人的思想聯繫起來。在那一刻，當我們看到這門古老的藝術時，那位古代藝術家的心靈與我們的心靈相遇、融合併分享一些東西。 

弗蘭克·福斯特