Why Paying Attention is the Boldest Artistic Act
Akira Kurosawa once said, “The role of the artist is to not look away.” If that doesn’t stop you in your tracks, you’re not paying attention.
Art isn’t about playing nice. It’s not about making something palatable or universally liked. It’s about seeing what others ignore—the overlooked, the uncomfortable, the beautiful, the broken. It’s about standing in front of the world, eyes wide open, and refusing to blink.
Seeing What Others Don’t
We live in a world of surface-level scrolling. Fast consumption, hot takes, and five-second attention spans. In that noise, the artist is the one who pauses, observes, and actually sees.
A great painting doesn’t just depict—it reveals. It pulls something out of the shadows and forces it into the light. Sometimes that means beauty. Sometimes that means contradiction. Sometimes that means making the viewer uncomfortable.
That’s the work. That’s the actual job.
Art as Confrontation
To paint, to sculpt, to create—it’s an act of defiance. You are choosing to engage rather than look away. Think about it: The best art doesn’t whisper; it demands attention. A glance, a brushstroke, a silence on the canvas—all of it says, ‘Look at this. Really look.’
And here’s the hard part: Not everyone wants to. Not everyone is ready to see. That’s where the courage comes in.
Where the Real Work Happens
If you want to make art that matters, you have to be willing to see what others won’t. You have to notice the shift in a person’s eyes, the weight behind their posture, the way light fractures at just the right angle.
You have to stay with the moment when others turn away. That’s where the real work happens. Not in playing it safe. Not in pleasing everyone. In refusing to look away.
Your Turn: What Made You Look?
I’ll leave you with this: What’s the last piece of art that made you truly stop and look? Not skim, not glance—but look.
Drop it in the comments, save this for later, and if you know someone who needs to hear this, send it their way. Because seeing—really seeing—is a radical act.
#ArtMatters #SeeTheUnseen #ArtistLife #CreativeProcess #DeborahScottArt
