rage notes THE WORD ART?


WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU HEAR


For me, the definition has changed greatlyover


the years. As a child, it was whatever combination of construction paper, glue, paint, or crayons I could get my little, grubby hands on. Color was magical to me and I saw it everywhere, in the sky, the water, trees and especially in the plants and flowers that grew around me. I was lucky enough to have grown up in a place that possessed much natural beauty and it gave me a deep fascination for the splendor of the most miniscule of autumn leaf and the glory in the endless vistas I’ve been privileged to see around the globe. As I grew older and experienced the world of


a young man, I came to see that there was much more in the world of art to appreciate...And to understand. The expression of the human condi- tion on canvas, in music, on a stage or through a photographer’s lens, was everywhere. There, because society at that time, valued it. Life and Look magazine showed me the world in beautiful black and white images…Sometimes disturbing, but always compelling. I grew to know the wonder of Mozart’s Requiem, Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos and the wonder of Broadway classics likeMary Poppins and West Side Story as well as the jazz and blues of Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole and Fats Waller, through the hundreds of wonder- ful albums my mother purchased and played. College brought me a new understanding all together. For the first time, I began to understand that artistic expression often brought with it a deeper message. I saw that great works often expressed deep issues within the societies the artists emerged from. Music, photos and canvases, expressing different points of view, from global politics and social standards to human sexuality and my relationship to such things. I learned that art can simply represent an idea or put forth an ideal, captured in a moment through an artist’s eye and released to the ephemera for the world to witness and judge: Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel and his David, Picasso’s Guernica, the photos of Robert Mapplethorpe, beauty for some and trash to others… all subjective as it can be. For our current arts issue, we have chosen to


feature three photographers, each with a unique perspective on their subjects and why they captured the photos they took. Tom Atwood’s images are like miniature shadowboxes, frozen tableaus showing intimate moments, featuring LGBT men and women in the intimate privacy of their homes. What he learned from the experience of shooting them? “One of the wonderful things, I kind of knew already, but had reinforced, was just


how many interesting people and interesting gay people there are all across the U.S…I knew, that dotted throughout the woods and down all the long driveways, were interesting people and things. I kind of learned that the whole country is like that and that there are interesting people everywhere.” Ron Amato who shared photos from his stunning


Box series talked about using the image as an expression of something deeper. “Once I hooked in to the idea of using the box as a visual metaphor for the different stages throughout life—I should say my life, because I don’t want to speak universally for everyone—I realized that I could really express these things with this common object. That’s been the most fascinating part of this for me. The prop is the suggestion, but the emotion behind it is really the outcome.” It’s what I adore about art in its many forms, the same image, sculpture, song or expression of it, can mean something different for each who view…Based on the experiences that make up their lives. Interestingly enough, one of the most powerful explanations about the importance of artistic expression and what it can represent, came from one of the other features we’ve included in this issue, the story onRuPaul’s Drag Race, Season 9. It came from the queen of artistic expression, the drag illusionist herself, “Even if they have an inkling of what we’re actually doing, the de-constructing of what we understand as male and female and ‘realness’ in our culture—even if they have a sense that it is absolutely right on the money—most people don’t possess the courage to question it in their own lives. That’s why our show is so compelling. It’s because of these kids, our contestants, who against all odds, take that major leap out of what they know. It’s a courageous step in a lifetime and that’s why they are so compelling to watch.” Artistic expression means stepping out of the


things we know, out of our comfort zones. For me it is what all art expresses, be it on stage, in a gallery on the ceiling of a chapel or through our television screens. So, next time you look at an expression of it, even if it’s something you don’t understand or agree with, consider that you don’t perhaps, because it’s challenging you to see beyond what you know…


Joel Martens,Editor in Chief


The purpose of art is washing the dust of daily life off our souls. — Pablo Picasso


8 RAGE monthly | MARCH 2017


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