Nicole Tognarina, Campus Carrier copy editor

Imagine walking through the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. You are surrounded by artworks that sell for millions of dollars, and right in front of you is a Google Maps pin. It’s about six feet tall and looks, for all intents and purposes, like it was blown up and printed onto a piece of cardboard. 

I’ve been there. I stood in front of that pin for ten minutes, trying to figure out what it could possibly symbolize. It’s infuriating to see — at first. 

I’m not much of an artist; I can barely understand the purpose of modern art as it is today. What I do understand, though, is the thought that often comes to mind when viewing it: “I could do that.” It’s a feeling of shock and confusion as you stand in front of something that seems so blatantly obvious to make, you’re surprised no one’s done it before. It feels like modern art has spit on every conception of what “art” is and determined its new goal is to turn as many people away from appreciating art as possible. It’s something many people think as they stare at yet another confounding art piece by Jackson Pollock.

The thought, “I could do that” when staring at modern art is so common, in fact, that a TikTok of this exact idea went viral not too long ago. But this thought incurs an often-unspoken follow-up: “Why didn’t you?”

For how often people, including myself, poke fun at the modern art movement, how many of us make any art? It’s a skill that many people don’t intentionally try to improve, and for reasons that are understandable; they don’t believe they would use it in “real life,” that it’s not “practical.” 

This couldn’t be further from the truth. Art isn’t just about making nice pictures or getting a poem to rhyme. It’s a way to express yourself. More than that, it’s a way to process the world around you and your experiences. There are plenty of stories of an artist who suffered greatly and made some of the best artwork in human history as a result. 

Art allows you to process emotions in a way that’s far more abstract and natural than trying to put them into words. Art makes room for interpretation, making an incredibly personal piece apply to a wide range of people. Even if you never share your artwork with anyone else, it can be a way to document your experiences, so when you look back at it, you can understand where you were emotionally as well as physically. 

Creating and understanding art is not for the rich or “misunderstood” in society. It is for everyone to make and see.