We all have what I like to call “happy places'' whether that be a tangible place like the lake house you would visit with your cousins, the beach you vacationed at growing up, or even the back booth of your local Mexican restaurant where you would gossip with friends over too many servings of chips and salsa. Other happy places are more niche and not a drive away, some are the lyrics of your favorite song, the whimsical world found in the pages of a book, or even the warmth of past memories. Whatever or wherever your happy place might be, it can be easy to escape to and wish you were in a world that was far more romanticized than reality. One of my happy places has always been in the harmonies and chords of a Taylor Swift song, say what you want about her but she knows how to write a song. On her most recent album, The Tortured Poets Department, she released a song titled “I Hate it Here”. In the song her lyrics describe hating the harshness of the real world and instead going somewhere else, “I hate it here so I will go to secret gardens in my mind”. Whether it be your happy place or a secret garden, everyone has their own sense of escape.
During the trip, I was able to cross something off of my “must do” list, not quite as dire as a bucket list but pressing nonetheless. What is it you may ask? The MET of course! Taking a scroll across my website you can easily see my love for art and creativity in all forms but the ones that got me to this point of love for the creative have always been paintings. One of my “secret gardens”, if you will, has been the stunning works of Claude Monet ever since I learned about him in art classes growing up. His Impressionist artworks of water lilies and his garden in Giverny, France have continually captivated me and inspired my love of artwork. Winding my way through excited art lovers and tourists to catch glimpses of the coveted Impressionist works was something I had waited years for, and it did not disappoint. Glimpsing at the gilded frames, I was drawn into another world, one of color and beauty. Where texture and brushstrokes captured not only a lovely scene, but a feeling of peace and comfort, one of the many reasons I love Monet’s work.
In today’s society, it can sometimes feel as if the love of art and craft is dissipating. Carefully crafted chapels are replaced with stark concrete buildings and oil paintings trampled by AI creations. However, being in the Advertising industry with an intense love for artwork, it is much more complex than black and white. In the modern industry, we have more technology and resources at our fingertips than ever before. However, one thing that cannot be replicated is the human spirit. The love, connection, and imagination we generate as people is what drives the creative. Our secret gardens and hidden worlds we hold so dear are motivations to take dreams and bring them into reality, creating a landscape that is continually evolving and becoming better by the people who instill their love into it. Media is the modern art form, yet now it can be shared with the touch of a button. There are photographers, videographers, individuals who can craft stories on their keyboards, musical artists who can share their lyrics across the world, and countless more. Oil painters will always create, because they love their craft, and the world will keep turning but as long as creativity exists within us true art will never cease…and perhaps that artwork will become the next generation’s “secret garden”.
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