Voice. That elusive thing that artists and writers keep talking about— the one that’s supposed to make your work unique, separate from all the other work out there. The thing that is supposed to make your work yours. I understand the search for voice, but I think we may be on to the wrong metaphor here. Our unique speaking voices comes to us without searching, without attempting. Of course, society moulds it, teaches women to speak in higher registers than their “true” voice, for example, but by and large, we speak uniquely without trying. It’s just our voice. In art, on the other hand, people can spend a lifetime looking for voice, looking for a way to be honest, uniquely oneself, transparent, almost. It might be the hardest task an artist ever sets themself.
Drawing the Chicken 18: On Voice
Drawing the Chicken 18: On Voice
Drawing the Chicken 18: On Voice
Voice. That elusive thing that artists and writers keep talking about— the one that’s supposed to make your work unique, separate from all the other work out there. The thing that is supposed to make your work yours. I understand the search for voice, but I think we may be on to the wrong metaphor here. Our unique speaking voices comes to us without searching, without attempting. Of course, society moulds it, teaches women to speak in higher registers than their “true” voice, for example, but by and large, we speak uniquely without trying. It’s just our voice. In art, on the other hand, people can spend a lifetime looking for voice, looking for a way to be honest, uniquely oneself, transparent, almost. It might be the hardest task an artist ever sets themself.