Why Art shouldn't match your Decor

For some reason, our society is so obsessed with making things “match.” This is particularly the case when it comes to contemporary art. The interior design industry is mostly responsible for this and they know it. But hey, you can’t blame them for helping people beautify their lives. That’s what they do. Ultimately, it’s all about the money. Isn’t it always. Matching art with your home – while it may be enjoyable – is a very shallow way to live. Are you THAT insecure that you need to impress others by making things match? People who need to make things “match” care too much about how others perceive them. Who cares if things don’t match? Why not take a walk on the wild side? Buy art that challenges you. Buy art that takes your breath away and bravely put it all over your home without the slightest concern that it matches anything else. Things may not match, but they will COMPLEMENT one another. YOU are the common link between everything that you own. Things will naturally go together because YOU like them and they work for YOU. Be BOLD! Conquer doubt! That’s the greatest lesson of artistic expression in the first place. Artists listen to their inner voice when it comes to creating art and you should also follow your bliss when it comes to buying art. If you’re concerned about making things in your life “match,” you’re not truly following your bliss. You’re living out your perception of someone else’s definition of who you ought to be. You’re not being fair to yourself. Set yourself free from this pathology. It’s your life and YOUR house. Do what YOU want. This usually does not include "matching" things. Art in your home should be kind of “off” anyway. It should be “not quite right.” It might even be just plain “wrong” to other people. That’s how you KNOW you’re ON to something. This is how you know you’re gaining a true understanding about contemporary art. True art cannot be caged by mere decorative considerations and nor should it be. Art deserves better and so do we.

My latest project

Please take a look at my latest project: http://www.blurb.com/books/5697412-vanishing-florida Sincerely, Kevin Boldenow

The Journey

Taking delight in the journey takes confidence. It pushes the envelope of design.

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Solving or Creating

In most successful business-to-business selling, the big wins come from creating problems. Once the competition is busy using your new innovation, the other companies have to buy it to keep competitive. Once other brands are using your social medium, the laggard brands do too—not because you've solved their problem, but because you've created one. The people in a traditional bureaucracy buy something new when they have to, not when they want to.

Despite the formidable and sometimes soul-crushing odds against material and critical “success,” artists are some of the most doggedly tenacious, spirited, responsive, broad-minded, emotionally honest souls you’ll ever encounter. They’re eternally striving for the next step, the next leap. Those who stick with it do so at considerable psychological cost. More than anything, they want to create objects or experiences that encapsulate their highest vision of what life can be — and maybe, just maybe, help you see the world in a slightly different light.

To be seen

The fascinating lesson about human nature is that people aren't always driven by a rational analysis of work as an exchange of labor for cash. We want to be seen and we seek to belong. It's a shame when an organization takes advantage of that and treats people unfairly. When we offer people a chance to matter and to be seen, we have the chance to offer them something magical.