“I start a picture and I finish it. I don’t think about art while I work. I try to think about life.” —Basquiat

For the past few moments of my life the question, “What is good art?” has been scattering through my mind.

I voyage many exhibits and artists are always trying to make some big poin through seemingly difficult mediums of art. Everything always seems too complex. Some artists  try too hard to make little sense of some loosely unknown or well known truth. The beauty gets lost in the unecessary chaos.

Wait. No No No. I got it.

Here’s a partial answer to the question that’s been buzzing through my mind:

“Art” should be like music; universal. It should be a transcendent way of communication  though very metaphysically tangible to many people from many different creeds of life, who  can appreciate it’s beauty and purpose.  If my mother, who has no professional art background, sees a Mondrian piece,  I am pretty sure she will say, “This is so cute.” Even if a piece has intricate design method, a great visionary, will make it seem effortless, which allows people to be apart of it, like the anatomy of day and night. Art should represent life, it is life, and the very nature of it’s birth, it’s entity, to  it’s never occurring death,  matches the storyline  of  our existences.  A captured  imagination, a work that easily evokes the beautiful common experiences of a lifetime of all living things, translucent to many, is good art.

I thankfully, tripped upon, Matthew Stone’s (UK), latest exhibit, “Optimism as Cultural Rebellion”,which was recently shown at The Hole gallery in New York City. This collection is no doubt alluring, and simply magnificent. J’ADORE!  I think I love it so much because it’s adventurous. The architectural structure of the photography is dope. It shows the labyrinthine journey  that one must go through in order to change seemingly futile conditions that’s set by society.  It also shows the breakthroughs, the battles, and beautiful product of creating one’s own definition of self in this world. To be optimistic is to be dangerous.  Matthew Stone is a man who understands art as life.

“The title of the exhibition “Optimism as Cultural Rebellion” should be considered a one-line manifesto, perhaps a “mini-festo”. Since 2004 Matthew has developed a personal philosophy of Optimism, defining it as “the vital force that entangles itself with and then shapes the future.” This timely position permeates all of his activities. Matthew Stone operates as an artist in a total sense: his very being, his community, his lifestyle and its expression dictate the creation of his interconnected works. As well as creating photography and sculpture he works in multiple worlds as curator, philosopher, performer, musician, facilitator and cultural provocateur.” - The Hole