Burroughs reading brings to mind “definitions of art”

While reading Burroughs’ piece about the “cut-up” method of creating poetry it triggered a few revelations in my head about what art and creativity is all about.

My first reaction upon hearing that the cut-up method is essentially the act of dissembling and reorganizing pre-existing text and poetry was a bit condemning. How could such work be called art or poetry? The end resultĀ  isn’t tireless reworking of sentences and stanzas, or a careful scrutinizing of any potential misplaced or misused word. In the end, the result is spontaneous — a spontaneous reproduction of another’s work.

But, after further consideration, I think my primal frustrations led me to a deeper understanding…

I first understood that my frustration was similar to gazing at art hanging in modern art exhibits. You know, the ones on the top floor of gallery’s holding magnificent portraits and landscapes by Renaissance masters. The ones where it looks as though someone tossed three buckets of paint on an empty canvas and called it a day. Ya, that same frustration.

Why is it this guys scribbles are hung on the wall of a museum and mine didn’t even make it on the refrigerator?

It was after connecting these two experiences that I realized maybe I’ve been concentrating too much on comparison and quantifying an end rest. Surely art and the creative process is more than just what gets to hang on the gallery wall.

I think in the case of “cut-outs” and I would guess with modern art as well, the process is really the key. After all, if I had to lump all “art” into one easy-to-define term, I would say that all art is really about seeing things differently. Whether that means painting a Picasso, a Monet, writing Canterbury Tales, or smearing some paint on a canvas.

The artist poet who creates “cut-out” poems may not be Pushkin, but then again, who am I to talk? I at least have an admiration for the creativity and resourcefulness of the individual who sees new poetry in a jumbling of old text. Just because I may not admire the artist for their prose, doesn’t mean I can’t respect and enjoy what they’ve created, even if what’s been created is really a re-creation.

Art isn’t just about creating something new, but using your own lens to creatively see something new in an object or creation.

One thought on “Burroughs reading brings to mind “definitions of art””

  1. I like your ending paragraph as a way to reconcile yourself to the seeming abstraction of some modern art. In terms of Burroughs and the cut-up method, though, I’d slightly modify your final thought; instead of “using your own lens” it’s “using no lens” or a “totally random lens,” which can allow you to see something new in an object, or even more broadly, in the world.

    We’ll talk about chance as a method of composition quite a bit this semester, so we’ll have time to tease out the implications of chance compositions…

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