Fleeting Art

I was walking down the street with a friend the other day. We were speaking about things when he pointed out a street artist on the other side of the street. The man was reproducing Italian painting on the sidewalk with chalk surrounded by people. My friend started to laugh explaining that only women were interesting in this kind of art. I hadn't noticed it before he mentioned it, but it was true, only women were looking at his work.

My friend continued laughing about the fact that women were interested in this kind of art as no men will ever be able to enjoy it. I was curious about his statement as I didn't understand how art could interest one gender more than the other, so I questioned him to better understand his point of view.

He said  that in Vancouver, the city of rain, it was not logical to practice this kind of art as the water would erase everything in one day and all this work would be worth nothing. He also said that men could never be interested in something so fleeting and illogical.

He began talking about another random subject, and I didn't go further into my interrogation. But it ran through my mind later that night. I though he was a bit unfair with the artist and I wanted to come to the artist's defence. I won't jump into the "girls like" vs "boys like" war; not today. I will only try to understand why this art interested this group of women the other day.

Like I mentioned earlier, the street artist was doing Italian paint reproduction with chalk. It wasn't original work. The artist was carrying and showing his source, so the passers could compare it to his drawing. I think the intention of the artist was to showcase his technique rather than his own art. So the women around him were looking a show. The artist was performing in front of them, like a singer, but the medium was different.

I had to agree with my friend on the ephemeral aspect of the drawing. I found it sad to thing that all his work will be gone with the rain, but if we compare it with a singer or a dancer, the perspective changes. Each time the singer performs a song in a show, the song is different and unique. Isn't that why we go to music shows? To meet the performer and admire the unique, live performance in front of us?

So, I have to disagree with my friend. I think the intentions of the artist were not to have a unique and durable product, he wanted to offer a performance. It is perfectly logical to watch him draw on the sidewalk.

Plus, I think there is a kind of beauty in something that last only a short time.