There are cultures that do not identify artists as creators.
Cultural Perspectives: Some cultures may view artistic expression as a reflection of societal beliefs and values, rather than solely the creator’s intent.
Anthropological Insights: Artistic expression can vary significantly across cultures, with some cultures integrating artistic practices into broader categories of making and doing, rather than categorizing them as separate from functional objects or religious artifacts.
Censorship and Norms: In certain societies, artistic expression may be restricted due to cultural norms or political ideologies, leading to self-censorship by artists.
These perspectives highlight that the relationship between an artist and their creation can be complex and context dependent.
I like to think of myself as a person who makes functional, and cultural objects from decorated paper. I’m not necessarily an artist, or a creator, or even a person who can be called a creative type person. I like to think I’m just another society member, furthering my society’s norms, values, activities, goals, and processes, not my own interests or ideas, when devising content to record.
These are simply social settings and material processing that I tend to enjoy making for myself, and more than that, for others to find them as objects that further our society’s interest in materials and goods that are decorative in nature. I’m really just decorating paper with ink and watercolor paint the way that a craftsman would detail the surface of a decorated lamp or furniture.
I also find it necessary to state that I, myself, am not in any position to promote myself as being an artist or craftsman as a definition of who I am as a person. It’s not an identity; it’s just the result of being in a certain role while going through certain cultural processes and norms of society.
It’s like defining oneself and how one looks at oneself and the world by a single self-defining bad experience: you could shut yourself off from life that way and trap yourself in a world of negativity and self-doubt. Instead, you could train yourself in thinking about yourself in new ways about that same experience and move past the block into serving something bigger and better than your own self-interest. If you let any particular role form your sole identity, you will be limiting your options and your growth. It’s better to have a fluid and adaptive identity, to a variety or cluster of roles available to you. It’s like wearing different theatre masks in a play. You can play more than one role in life.
I like to think of myself as someone who applies anthropological principles to my work in paper and ink crafts. Putting down the story of my society and its history and culture, referencing its norms, traditions, and values, puts my life in order. And that is how our culture grows.