You Can't Display Your Art Without Being Vulnerable.

If  you're an artist and you show your work to the world, be it on a gallery wall or your Instagram wall, that's vulnerability. Whether you like to admit it or not, and no matter what anyone tells you, its not an easy task, and dare I say it takes courage. 

When I was creating my collection to be exhibited titled "Naked" I wanted to stay true to the title of my show. I wanted to be real and raw and I knew that people needed that - to see some pretty messed up behind the scenes of what really happens in the life of a full time artist. That collection broke me in so many ways. In ways that I find hard to articulate to you now, but it also taught me things about myself I didn't quite understand before. I wont bore you with the list. 

Of course this collection was created to be exhibited in a solo show at the beautiful gallery that represents me. It took me 10 months to create and 10 months to really wrap my head around what was happening. In the middle of creating this collection, I was also given the opportunity to design the set for a Harpers Bazaar photoshoot, an opportunity that my publicist told me I should not turn down. They wanted to feature me in their magazine and do an entire article about me. I was panicked and grateful simultaneously. I had 5 days to create this masterpiece and this time my work was going to be displayed for the world to see. Talk about vulnerability, right? It was all happening, all at the same time. The emotions that were running through me were intense. I remember collapsing on the floor of my studio surrounded by a sea of fabric, in a foetal position crying, while my husband stood over me not knowing what to do with me. 

I don't even know why I was in tears. I cant remember whether I was tired or scared or worried, perhaps all the above. I just remember not wanting to let anyone down even if it meant letting myself down in the process. Somehow that didn't matter at the time. 

When you have to show your work to people, it feels like the world has opened up your diary and is reading out loud your most intimate thoughts and feelings. That's truly what it feels like to me. Especially for someone who's deeply introverted and private, it can be incredibly daunting. But what makes artists unique, is that we do it anyway, not just because we have to, but because we want to connect with the world in ways we know how. Art is a universal language we all speak fluently. This makes it easier. 

To me, displaying my work is far more important than selling it. Selling my work (I have said often) is only an added bonus to what I do. When I have eyes on my work, whether it be on a gallery wall, in a magazine or on my Instagram wall, that's where I make all my connections, and that is the reason artists create in the first place. The one's that create solely for the purpose of selling, I do not understand and I have no business trying to. 

Showing your work to the world leaves behind a visual footprint of who you are and what you represented. It tells people you existed especially in a world where most are forgotten only weeks after they depart the world. Displaying your work (as difficult as it may be) leaves behind pieces of you. A tale of who you were and who you will always be. It leaves behind a trail of stories that can be told for generations to come. Its your legacy. Your visual diary. It's an opportunity for people to continue to speak your name, even if it's a tiny art piece your kids dig up from the garage years after you're gone. It's something you created and left behind. 

You can't create art without being vulnerable. It's impossible. 

You can create art that will never be seen by anyone but yourself, but why would you deny the world the opportunity to receive your art? It could change someone's life. You could be the reason someone (who's deathly afraid to display their art) finds the courage to show the world their own creations. 

Lina.