After gathering the courage to start a blog based on my views and opinions of art and culture, I found myself staring blankly at my laptop. For the first time in a long time, I had nothing to say (possibly to the delight of my loved ones) and the feeling was new to me. But I pushed through the shyness and decided to share a brief history of my love for art and culture.
Let me clarify one thing, I am an observer, a historian and a critic (which can sometimes be viewed as the same thing, depending on your opinion). I am not an artist – anymore than all of us intrinsically are.
My Dad’s uncle was the South African impressionist Adriaan Boshoff (http://www.adlou.co.za/Artists/adriaan_boshoff.html) and his passion and work played no small part in nurturing my love for art. His daughter was also kind enough to give me a part-time job at her gallery when I was still trying to figure out what to do with my life – it was a life-changing experience: I learned to think, observe and enjoy and I even learned to live a bit more than I used to – for all that I will forever be grateful. I have had many more encounters with artists and galleries after that and to this day, but that is a story for another time.
My interest in culture developed recently: I started studying classical cultures (along with art history) and since then my eyes have opened to the understanding a person develops as a result of studying cultures. Obviously, the art and culture of a people develops together and that makes it an interesting and diverse subject. It also happens to be an intoxicating and addictive subject.
I will elaborate on the terms art and culture at a later stage, as well as the complex relationship between these two terms. For now, try not to be too academically harsh. I also find it prudent to give any present and future readers two small pieces of advice for surviving my opinions (and perhaps life in general):
1. Keeping an open mind will do you more good than harm and;
2. Beauty truly is in the eyes of the beholder.
Blessings,
Mel
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