gore as symbolism for introspection

⋆ ᵈᵉᶜₑₘᵦₑᵣ ₆ ₂₀₂₄

Once in art school we had a woman in a suit come in to give us business advice. She was some kind of creative consultant. She spoke in a way where you kind of felt bad for her. Not because she acted in a meek manner but there was this lack of presence. She seemed frenzied about not particularly anything. This woman was suppose to help us decides our marketing strategy as artists. My consultation didn't go well.

I told her since I'd been hospitalized before at this point I wanted to focus on making art for mentally ill people. She hated this. She thought it was too broad and I needed to be more specific. This woman even insisted I should incorporate my race into my mission without any context on my background. I challenged her on the idea, insinuating that it's a good mission because it is so inclusive. Next thing I knew she was moving along to the next kid. I don't think consultants are suppose to be that fragile.

I've been thinking about this again lately. I've been asking myself a similar question again. Not from an advantageous perspective like that woman suggested. A genuine question of how what I want to do actually adds to other people's lives. What if I dared to have a more abstract goal? Something that defines my purpose in a way that allows me to grow and change. Then it clicked. I'll make art for people who've been pushed into the dark. I'll make things for people who stay up all night with their mistakes. I'll keep going for people who we're forced to look into themselves.

I'll make art for hurt people.