This quote is attributed to the late, great, Kurt Cobain. Our worst experiences in life tend to inspire us to create our best work. Often times we find it difficult to put our feelings in words and really experience them in their raw form. This is why visual art and music can speak to us on such a deep level. What the artist is expressing resonates with us in such a way we can’t really explain. And sometimes it doesn’t have to even be “art” we see. Life in all its forms is its own canvas.
A couple of summers ago we were in Portland, Oregon before leaving to fly home. Some neighborhoods there have seen better times, to put it mildly. We were passing through a notoriously rough neighborhood. I came across a man who was lying against a building, partially on the sidewalk, zonked out, surrounded by syringes and other debris. This scene wasn’t out of the ordinary for the area. There was something beautiful about it, though. It was overcast and all the colors surrounding the man were cool in color. It felt damp, dreary and hopeless.
Greys and blues draped his background, while he nodded out, slightly leaning forward. The sleeves on his black button-down shirt were rolled up, and his legs dressed in his tattered blue jeans laid sprawled out in front of him. As I went by him, I felt the desperation and need for escape he must have felt. He didn’t attempt to hide getting high and he laid there vulnerable to the world in his altered state. Yet for him, that moment he was experiencing was probably something completely different than what we saw.
One block over, a (presumptively) suburban looking mother was taking pictures of her daughters or daughter and her friends with the Portland skyline in the background. They were well-dressed, laughing and enjoying being teenagers. They didn’t seem fazed by the seedy neighborhood or despair around them. They continued to pose as we passed by them, oblivious to the decay and despondent vibes that plagued this neighborhood. As someone who is mindful of her surroundings and often anticipating movements from others, I can tell you that these women where not at all. Which also left them vulnerable to potential threats around them.
To me these stark differences were fascinating. While we may take different paths in life, we are all human. We all have things we deal with. And while on the outside our lives might look different, what we experience from art touches us in such a raw way because, in some ways, we are all the same.
What allows us to connect to others in such a deep and meaningful way, is the fact that we can all relate to hardships and tragedies. Art gives those experiences a voice that can make us feel less alone and united in the human experience.
