TAOU Is For Artists
By Derowen Cutchin
TAOU Is For Artists is a dedicated space to highlight the talented, diverse array of artists who have been selected for TAOU’s artist’s membership, inspire our readers with the many ways that art shows up in our community and practice, as well as create discussion about the creativity around and within all of us! It is time to share our awareness of community art-making in the same way; through marveling curiosity and connection. Just as our movement classes call for presence, reflection, and most importantly, FUN, TAOU Is For Artists is here to spark your imagination with the talents of Richmond, VA no matter where you might be!
Think of someone whom you would consider an artist. Are you envisioning a historical figure? A serious and squinting painter whose mind is a mystery? A musician or poet with a wild imagination who cannot help but write the lyrics of a new song anytime inspiration hits? Do you have your mental image? If you were to search the definition of “art” as a noun in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, you would be met with nearly six different explanations and if you were to search the definition of “artist”, you would be met with, “a person who creates art (such as painting, sculpture, music, or writing) using conscious skill and creative imagination”.
My question dear reader is:
What can you do with conscious skill and creative imagination that makes YOU an artist?
And lucky you, dear reader -
This question is rhetorical when the skill of owning, feeling, and moving the body occurs every day. Here at TAOU, movement of the self represents the dance of life and the art of being YOU! We are here to explore the colors that live inside each and every one of us, and the reflective practices that guide us into learning what those colors are.
In this way, it is important to note that art and expression have existed long throughout human history with the first evidence of visible paintings dating back to 30,000 BP (Before Present). This fact is not to offer an art history lesson, but to give weight to the various forms in which art has held a special place in the hearts of people. Just as our hearts change, grow, and respond to the communities around us, expression has proved to be equally expansive. We might think about popularized artists such as Claude Monet, who captured feeling rather than realism, Pablo Picasso, who tossed aside illustrating a clear subject, or Jackson Pollock, who welcomed chaos on the canvas. You may have been picturing one of these artists earlier, and these examples are simply to give recognition to the evolving definition of art that has consistently changed with each cultural movement. Like a cat seeming as if it has turned into liquid to fit into your coffee table vase, art has proved to only be limited by the boxes in which we contain it.
adreciclarte: “ Picasso , 1960 by Brassaï ”
When connecting this understanding of art to our experience of the body, I want you to think about all of the ways in which you already interact with art and the physical senses that bring you inward. Whether it is our favorite album, love for fashion, organizing eye, or pastime hobby, art holds the beauty of allowing us to come in contact with a spectrum of feelings. It is psychological that colors can change our moods, and it is intuitive when we find variations of this expression that call to us as individuals. What if your body could be the poet to inspire you? What if the stillness of a pose brought you the same sense of ease as the Monet you once saw in a museum? What if fiery breathwork warmed your lungs and released the day’s tension like the song you listened to on the way home from work? Like a sponge, your body soaks in your interaction with the world and, like an artist, can be constantly inspired. Therefore, by approaching movement, we can give ourselves the opportunity to begin to feel this inspiration and listen intently to the body’s responses.
The Art of You recognizes each student and their wide-ranging uniqueness! Within our classes, TAOU cares deeply about providing space for students to pause and become curious about the physical, as well as emotional state of the body. Movement encourages body awareness to create a practice of unearthing this inspiration for use in our daily lives. Some days, it is sensing our heavy shoulders after a long work shift which may have previously gone unnoticed. Some days, it is springing with joy from bouncy feet as we acknowledge exuberance in the body. It is a practice that welcomes moving in life with the acknowledgment of our personal artistry; and rather than displaying this “YOU” in a body of work at a museum as many of the artists mentioned above have done, you might exhibit your authenticity with every step.
TAOU Is For Artists invites the community to interact with the working artists of Richmond, VA in the hope that their inspiration and artistry can stir your own! As our definition of art has a wide breadth, your qualification as a “working artist” does as well with the main qualification being that you are a producer of some form of art (movement, performance, painting, product creation, etc.) with the intention to share it with the public.
Should you be one of these working artists interested in applying to the “Artist’s Membership”, you can apply using the link attached (here) as submissions will be accepted from the 1st through the 20th of each month. If you are one of the five artists that have been chosen for this membership, you will receive an unlimited class membership at a discounted rate of $80 per month, a “TAOU Is For Artists” t-shirt, occasional free member events, a 15% discount on massage services, and the opportunity to be in the TAOU spotlight on our social media, as well as on this page. If you are a working artist or not, TAOU is dedicated to emboldening the artistry that lives within each of us! Coming into tune with our bodies sparks new perspectives from practices of restoration, nourishment, balance, ambition, etc. Adjacently, discussing our variety of working artists sheds light on the creativity surrounding our communities and how we might nurture our imaginations. In connecting these two, we appreciate that art is always transforming, and you are too. TAOU Is For Artists dreams that our creativity, perspective, and imaginations never run dry so that you, my dear reader, can go from class into the world inspired equally by your body and all that surrounds you.