Man, as mankind is often called, has walked this Earth for thousands of generations. Each spending but a flicker of time upon this fragile water-logged dust speck. They have lived, they have died. They have loved, they have lied. Each human being is a wondrous creation, singular and unique, never to be repeated. And yet, in all of mankind, there is very little that is truly new or unique. Of all the sickness, emotion, experience and occurrence, rare is the event that has not already been lived by someone else in one form or another. No matter how strange the experience, someone else, somewhere, at some time, has almost certainly walked that path.
Perhaps that is why so many seek to be unique. To be “the first” to do a thing.
And that is why art, in all its forms, is so important. For it is through art that the individual shines ever brightly. No two people will ever paint the same masterpiece, compose the same symphony or sculpt the same sculpture. An artist will always be “the first”. Every original work of their hands or mind is unique. They will always be the first to see, or hear, or touch, their own creation. Anyone who has ever labored over a work, sweated for its true perfection will know that a piece of their very soul was captured within. Through art, the soul can be seen and shared. Even when the creator of that art is long gone to time and mortality a part of their essence and being is visible to all who look upon their work.
Robin Bradbery
