Baltimore County, MD smARTS, 16 May 2017

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From YouTube: Richard WIlson: Arts Expressions: smARTS Spring 2017

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How does art help express an artist’s values and way of looking at the world? A perspective from Richard Wilson, Towson University philosophy instructor, artist, and member of the Towson Arts Collective.

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( ♪♪♪ ).

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How does art help express an artist s values and way of looking at the world? well,? It s a question. I ll be exploring with richard wilson, a philosophy instructor at towson university,, an artist, and a member of towson arts collective.

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Good to see you. how are you?, I m good, and I m going to ask you: how does art express an artist s values?.

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I think that aristotle, sort of summed it up best in his metaphysics,.

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Where he thinks that human beings are by nature, curious.

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And what I would say is that part of the artist in all of us.

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Is that we have some kind of vision,, and so what we try to do through our art is express our internal vision of what the world looks. Like.

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Mm-Hmm. so,, we develop a worldview based upon our art.

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Okay. so,, I m going to ask you a more personal question: then..

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How is your personal philosophy,, your worldview,, expressed in your art?.

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I grew up in the northwest, fishing and going all over the place.

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In a camper, and I ve been trying to paint the same waterfall.

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For the last 48 years., ( laughter, ) and I still haven t got it,, but I m working on it. yeah.. I like waves and clouds and the environment, and it s something that allows me to relax from some of the more.

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Stressful work related to my philosophy, teaching.

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So, you find philosophy teaching rather stressful,. Are you saying?.

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Well, it s challenging in the sense that when you re dealing with.

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Contemporary issues, like the issues in today s world,, you have to be somewhat careful with regard to what you say,.

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Because people can become quite angry, and getting them to challenge their own ideas is difficult.

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So, at times, yeah, it s a little stressful,, but it does do something for me that s quite natural.

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I ve been doing it a long time.

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Okay. so,, you are sort of this dual person.

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You re an artist., you re a philosophy instructor..

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How do you mesh the two then?.

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I think that my main work in philosophy right now has been applied. Ethics,.

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And ethics is part of value. Theory, and value theory includes aesthetics and theory of art and ethics.

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And so, it s part of a much broader picture, with regard to what do we think should be the most valuable things that we are concerned. With? ethics is very important, because it s related to how we should treat each other.

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art is something about what should we value, and for me,.

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The environmental art ties directly into the environment has to be valued,.

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In order to make sure that the people that follow us,, our successors, have a livable and sustainable environment.

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So, I focus on environmental art.

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Okay. so, there s a lot of discussion right now going on about the environment.

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Right? and so, there are different ways to discuss. That.

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there can be studies done and symposiums, you know,.

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With all kinds of scientific research., you re saying that through art--, that art can also be a very powerful tool.

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In understanding the environment and how we treat the environment.

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Well,, I think it s important to really introduce it to young people,.

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Because I think that by the time people, and young people included,.

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Get to a certain age, ideology sets in, and young people are naturally drawn to the environment.

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so, through the construction of art and the talking about art,.

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The creation of art, mm-hmm.

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What you can do is start to nurture values in children, even.

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I d like to run a workshop on "let s. All paint waterfalls, today.".

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Maybe you ll get that waterfall. You ve been looking for all these years.

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I m still trying. ( laughter, ).

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So,, apart from your teaching,, apart from your own artwork,, you also are a board member for the towson arts, collective.

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Tell me a little bit about the group,, because I know they ve been around now for a while in baltimore county.

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Towson art collective has been in existence for 10 years..

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We ve had a couple of venues, one on york, road, right by the library.

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We now are at 10--, 40, west chesapeake,.

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But we also have a space in kenilworth, and we have a space in the mall.

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Right next to nordstrom s,, so we re.

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So, very accessible for a lot of people,, where there s a lot of traffic, right. foot, traffic.,.

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And people can exhibit their work. and in some sense, it s very important,, because not only do people get a chance to exhibit their work,.

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But they also get a chance to meet a lot of people, and the community gets introduced to the art.

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and a lot. People are just ordinary people that just do art.

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So,, it provides a basis that s sort of a non-gallery.

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We have to make money right. as our first priority,, but we like people to buy the art.

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Right. right. and so,, it ends up being quite important for us to help--, have an active-- a group of active centers in the community, but also, I think it allows people that might not have a place.

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To exhibit art to exhibit art,, just by joining the collective.

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And so, also, there are folks who are maybe a bit intimidated.

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About going into a gallery.

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mm-hmm., you know?, but if you re there at the mall, or you re there-- you know, whatever., I mean, it really does get it into the community.

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Right. and that s the artwork.

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Maybe something that s important in my ideas of the collective are that art is something ordinary,.

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And everyone should be making art. my mom crocheted and made doilies forever,.

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And I mean, these are precious items., that s her life, energy, mm-hmm., mm-hmm. breathed into her doilies. yeah. and if you just said, well, painters, do the same. Thing.

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sculptors do the same. Thing. filmmakers do the same thing, and I think our young people have to be encouraged. -- and old people ( laughter, ), older people,, mature people.

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Need to be encouraged to be creative, as well.

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absolutely., it s a great form of expression. so,. If people want to get involved with the towson arts collective,, they can.

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you don t have to necessarily be an artist. no.. You can just support it?.

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You can just walk up and come into any of the spaces., like I said, one s in kenilworth., one s at 40, w. chesapeake.

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and one s now in a mall,, and we always have forms in there for you to join..

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It s really inexpensive, and you can also be a donor.

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Okay. well, rich wilson, good to meet you.

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Wonderful to talk to you about--, I wish we had many more moments.

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To speak,, because you have a lot to say. so, thanks so much.

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Yep. thank you.

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So, rich wilson, and I m carolyn black-sotir,, and this is smarts,, the baltimore county arts and culture show.