Art & Expression

If I Separate the Art from the Artist

A poem about the strangers behind the art I love, and what my feelings about their art are really about.

2 min read
AI illustration: a man in a hoodie stands beside a second figure whose head dissolves into fire, and a third figure made of golden light.
If I separate the art from
The artist I can be free
Of so much that hurts me
Because the truth
Is
That I do not know the artist
Does their mother know the artist? Their own father?
Then how can I assume to know to think to feel something from the artist
When I am feeling something
What I am really feeling is my projection on the artist's art
How I feel about the art
How I feel about Da Vinci’s headband in that painting of the lady with the cute critter thing
How I feel about Kanye’s art, music
How I feel about corporate video games, art, video games
I feel
It’s not like I know the artist
Or the company
These are strangers, ultimately
Strangers are dangerous
Strangers are marvelous
Strangers are divine
Just as I am divine
Just as you are divine
Because the truth is
There are many truths
Strangers are everything
And nothing at the same time
I am a stranger to most of humanity, alive or dead
Existing or yet to be born
I am also that stranger
And how you feel about my art
Is about you
And how I feel about your art
Is about me
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