The Transformative Potential of Everyday Art

As I began reading the text I found myself agreeing with a lot of what Johnstone put forth. He speaks of "the vast reservoir of normally unnoticed, trivial, and repetitive actions compromising the common ground of everyday life" (Johnstone 12). The idea that what is present in everyday life is virtually a never-ending supply of material for art and creative license in our lives. The repetitive could be seen as boring and uninspiring, unless of course we recondition ourselves to see the world with more appreciative eyes. We should not let our eyes glaze over as we scan the block we live on or as we walk by people downtown. There is material everywhere and just by recognizing it as important and interesting down to the smallest details it can be given new meaning and value.

A quote that stood out to me as I read through the text was, "Commitment to the everyday can also indicate the desire to give a voice to those silenced by dominant discourses and ideologies - a commitment couplesd with the responsibilty to engage wth the everyday's transformative potential" (Johnstone 13). Johnstone is saying that by becoming aware of the value in things we take for granted and giving value to the undervalued, people and things are removed from the binds of society's social constuct and appreciated for all that they are. Creating art from the everyday means that anyone can shine the light on any subject of their chosing to show that that person, place, or object is worth praise and recognition as much as a Picasso painting or other form of widely appreciated art. There is beauty all around us. Attention to detail in this form of art and creativity refers to finding the details that already exist, as opposed to creating them. By becoming immersed in the world around us we can begin to see, perhaps, how things must change, and art gives us a means of doing so, or at least bringing issues to the public eye in a creative way. By creating art that is honest, organic, and raw, it gives a voice to matters that may be important but so deeply ingrained in the everyday that no one stops to think about it. Bringing attention to peoples' habits, priorities, and the scenery in which we exist can be a strong agent for transformation on a larger scale.