What is art?

In the past week, I have had to wear dress pants, a button down shirt, a tie and black socks a total of three times, and I have hated every second of it. There’s something about the age of 20 that suddenly forces you to surrender your youthful whims in exchange for Dockers and professional maturity. It is not a slow transition into adulthood we face, but rather, an unwelcoming mudslide of reality that pushes us into a cynical sinkhole that results in impulsive purchases and rebellious tattoos.\n Yet, in between lamenting our lost days of childhood and fighting against the mold of the adult world, we still find time to hope. We still hold on to the dreams that the 10-year-old versions of us clung to, and we still continue to create art like we did so long ago. One artist, Jean Dubuffet, is a perfect example of retaining of childhood values.\n Born in France at the turn of the 20th century, Dubuffet established a branch of modern art known as Art Brut. The term referred to art created by those not professionally trained within the establishment of art. It was often crude in composition, and the term encompasses works by outsider artists, children and even the mentally ill. In his own paintings, Dubuffet chose to create childlike images, using techniques such as finger painting, scribbling and using bold primary colors.\n Many of Art Brut’s followers have been distinguished figures in postmodern art. Perhaps the most famous outsider artist to date, Lee Godie, made her mark by refusing to be a part of mainstream society. Instead, she painted pictures on printer paper, napkins and even fast food boxes outside of the Art Institute of Chicago and lived a life of poverty. She sold her crude portraits of princes and beautiful flappers only to people she felt she liked and never surrendered her youthful desire for the fantastic.\n We can learn a lesson from unusual artists such as Godie and Dubuffet. We can take a breather, stop thinking about the horrible adult world and buy a box of crayons. Remember that 96-pack with colors like “macaroni and cheese” and “tickle me pink?” Draw your house, your friends or wherever you hope to be in 20 years. Just don’t color in the lines and don’t draw to scale. As long as you can do this, you should be able to climb out of that sinkhole.