13 Comments
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Barbara Koskinen's avatar

Wonderful article and brilliant writing! Here's to "slow art"!!!!!

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Jennifer M Koskinen's avatar

Cheers to that, indeed! I'm *trying* to get back into the habit of finding even a few minutes for art every day :)

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Brad Carl's avatar

Took me a while to get around to commenting. First of all, did you sell that piece of art to your friend or tell them "naw"?

Secondly, your last question made me think of why I love certain pieces of ambient music so much. The first one that comes to mind is William Basinski's Disintegration Loops I and IV. I put on my surround sound headphones and the music takes me away. It's almost like time travel. I will get different feelings at different times, but they are all generally of nostalgia. That's the best word I can come up with to describe it. I have never had anything affect me this way until I found this music. I also have found myself asking the creepy question: "Is this what it feels like to die?" but then I answer myself and ask "Is this what it feels like to be born?"

It's an excellent feeling, I promise. And what I find so special about it is I doubt that the music affects anyone else in the same way. Now THAT is art, right?

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Jennifer M Koskinen's avatar

I love that you used the word nostalgia -- like, we see a reflection of ourselves in art (music/writing/theater/etc.) Even if we’ve never directly experienced the specific thing in a work of art, there’s a familiarity -- a common humanity that the artist/art communicates. That’s really beautiful -- thank you for expressing it this way!

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Sandra Ann Miller's avatar

Going to say it again: You're a talent! And I call writing "The Curse". I have no choice but to do it. Even when my fingers aren't on the keyboard or holding a pen, it's happening in my brain. So artists are gonna art. You rule. xo

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Jennifer M Koskinen's avatar

YES -- the curse to create is real for those of us afflicted with it -- haha! I've been so baffled by people saying AI art would make artists no longer make art?! Artists arting, unite!! Thank you as always, for your incredibly generous and kind comments. xo

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Tom's avatar

Thanks for this beautiful piece of writing. For me the art I love emotionally connects me to its creator. It makes me feel.

And I love the John Lennon sketch, it's wonderful. Thanks for sharing it

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Jennifer M Koskinen's avatar

Ah, yes -- that connection to the artist is truly what I love -- thank you for sharing that you feel it, too. And I'm happy you enjoyed the John Lennon sketch. Thank you for your thoughtful comments, always!

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Jackie Pick's avatar

Gushing over you, this piece, your art, feels insufficient. Brava! <3

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Jennifer M Koskinen's avatar

Ah -- that means so much coming from you, my fellow brilliant art-maker. Thank you! <3

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Jackie Pick's avatar

Um, I added a comma after "art" so that it was crystal clear that my gushing was insufficient, not the art. I am throwing myself at the mercy of the punctuation gods right now.

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Joan langford's avatar

LOVE THIS. Where's the book?

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Jennifer M Koskinen's avatar

Thanks, Joan! The little sketchbook? I have it safely stored in its little pouch... the book for sale will be a while as I'm currently obsessed with another book project -- ha!

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