The Why Model
I can write, draw, photograph, paint, and sketch all day long about the emotional pain—all day long. I can write about the problems, the confusion, the misunderstandings, and the things that make me depressed. I can paint, write, and draw about that shit all day long. It’s very easy. The question is, why? Probably because it’s the only thing I know, and it’s how I express the way I feel in my personality. Yeah, it’s darker things, it’s odd things, but through that, I truly feel like my “why” is so I can be seen and heard. The hard thing is: how do I write, draw, and paint about happiness and being at peace with myself? So I can be at peace with others and being at peace with the world. With all of its bullshit, I can be at peace with myself and all of my own bullshit. Instead of expressing the problem, I only need to express why at the moment. And then I want to express hope—a middle ground, I guess. But this week, the big word in my head is “why”? Why for everything?
The “Why Model” and Functional Behavior Analysis (FBA)
…It seems we fell out of the art world for a moment, but that’s okay. Establishing the ‘why’ is important when being creative—is it helping, or is it hurting? That’s the big question. When I draw certain types of art, make memes, or take pictures of depressing things, why am I doing that? Why am I looking for an answer? Is it an escape, or is it for attention? Is it tangible? Is it sensory? All that stuff. For something like taking pictures in cemeteries, I call that an escape—an avoidance—because I’m by myself; it’s quiet around a bunch of dead people, and that part works. But functional behavior is a bit different when I’m being creative. Why am I doing this? Am I being creative so someone will praise me and say I’m good? Do I create because it releases something inside me? I’m not sure yet, but I’m getting there. To me, when it comes to art, it doesn’t matter ‘why,’ because the ‘how’ is expressing it through the art itself. But what do I get from it that’s genuinely positive? We’re going to explore that with a new abstract method I’ve been using. So, that’s enough for today. I’m worn out, okay? I’ll talk to you all later.
Love,
Mark