Artist’s Intuition
In many cases my work relies on intuition. More so in recent years than when I began my photographic journey. I was giving a talk to a group of photographers discussing my Convergence portfolio and the role that intuition played in making the work. I decided that I would accept the difficult task of attempting to put it into words. I found the piece that I’ve shared below that describes it much more eloquently than my capabilities. Credit Khaoula Chatt for her brilliance in describing it. I’ve quoted it below exactly as it originally appears on her website. Please take some time and visit Khaoula’s website by clicking here.
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This is a personal take on an artist intuition and why you need to listen to it. If you do not agree with my take, feel free! But do not hate on me because I am fragile. Okay?
“Artists are intuitive. They wait for inspiration. That’s what art is about, the intuitive, not the intellectual. Art about ideas stimulates ideas, but art that comes from inspiration stimulates feelings of happiness, innocence and beauty.”
– Agnes Martin
You can also read this: Intuitive art exercises to connect with your inner artist
What is an artist’s intuition, and why do you need to listen to it?
To me, intuition is the highest form of intelligence. It comes from within. When you do something with the right intent and you feel it coming from your heart, that is intuition. It is knowing what to do without knowing why you know. Intuition is about creativity.
So many people have intuition confused with instinct. And while instinct is our primal nature that is rooted in survival, living by our instincts today is risky. Listening to our fears is risky. It only leads to mediocrity because the world is much safer than it used to be, and as humans, we have come a long way and have better things to focus on other than survival.
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
– Albert Einstein
Why does an artist’s intuition matter?
Your intuition as an artist exists for you, not against you! and that should be enough reason for you to trust it and listen to it.
In a bit of a scientific sense, intuition is the connection to the subconscious. It’s how the subconscious and conscious minds communicate. This is why it’s such a vital source of creative power, wisdom, and understanding—it transcends the realms of experience or reasoning.
“Intuition is just the things we’ve learned without realizing we’ve learned them….”
– Pshycologist Seymour Epstein
And as an artist, you learn a lot through subconsciousness without realizing that you do. While you are in a flow state, your mind and muscles are collecting data and making new associations in the background, which means that your intuition is far more developed than the people around you who rarely practice a creative activity.
But you still feel like your intuition may be wrong or misleading in some situations. Don’t you?
In the past, I have had situations where I chose to listen to my intuition, and those turned out fabulous. I have had moments where I chose to believe that my intuition is not enough and that I need to always base my choices on facts or to ask people around me and let their choices influence my decision-making. All the times I chose to go down this road, I ended up regretting why I didn’t listen to my intuition in the first place.
Conclusion
The career of an artist is pretty unknown and full of surprises. And for you to make your decisions by reasoning or basing your choices on facts is very risky. Please listen to your intuition; it really exists for a reason.