Art is Anarchy (to Me)

It's been a while. With this semester nearing its end, I've had to devote plenty of time to my classes and artwork. In fact, some of my artwork, as in some of my out of school personal work, is what brought me back to this blog. As you may have noticed, I have changed the color scheme and header of my blog.

I have been wanting to redesign my own personal logo for a long time, but I was unable to redesign the logo in a way that really stuck with me. In the end, I just liked the original too much. However, despite that, I have been wanting something a little different and a little better, so instead of changing it altogether, I merely maintained the shapes and altered a few lines and colors.

The image on top is my original design from about three years ago, and the image beneath it is the alteration that I created yesterday. As you can see, the differences are subtle, but I also feel like the new design is a little more successful. It's thicker and a bit simpler, so I think it's a bit easier to read.

Some of you looking at the image may recognize it from somewhere, and you should. Sure, it's easily the letter "A" inside the letter "O" to represent my initials, but there is also some other familiar iconography present. Some may place it immediately, and some may not. Here, I'll make it simpler:

The symbol I have posted above is the most recognizable anarchist symbol, I think. The "Circl-A" has been in use by anarchists since the mid-1800s. The "A" stands for "anarchy," and the "O" stands for "order." The whole symbol is supposed to read as "the mother of order," or something like that. (I think it's interesting, really, that the symbol reads as the origin of order when anarchy is usually defined as disorder.) Regardless of the history of the symbol, I like it because of the dictionary definition of what it represents.

Google defines anarchy as "a state of disorder due to absence or nonrecognition of authority; absolute freedom of the individual" and accompanies the definition with a few synonyms. My favorite of the synonyms is the first one: "lawlessness." You see, at the end of the day, art is anarchy to me. Why?

Well, when you think about it, is there really one true, solid definition of "art?" Is there ever honestly one straight answer to "What is art?" Everyone views art differently and in a way that pertains to them. Sure, there are definitely principles, elements, and guidelines to art that are taught in educational settings in the hopes that they may stick in the back of an artist's mind to maybe be heeded and used in their later work. Some famous examples would be like comparing Michelangelo to Pollock, or even Picasso to Warhol, or Banksy to Duchamp. It's all art, and it's all renowned art by respected artists, however whether or not their work conforms to what you think art really is, is exactly what proves my point.

Art is lawless. Art is anarchy. It is this simple belief of mine, plus the convenience of the letters required in the Circle-A matching the letters of my initials, that make my logo so outstanding to me. It's so simple, yet so personally meaningful, and I really love it. It will likely stick around for several more years longer and, hopefully, even longer than that.