I define art in two categories:
Primary art.
Secondary art.
Primary art is the human being. Everything that makes up the entire human is art.
Secondary art is everything that the human being creates. Whether it is an illustration, an expression, or even just a wish–it is always a small reflection, a small glimpse, of the primary entire art source that is the human.
The only way to truly reflect who the whole human being is, is to let the secondary art be as transparent as possible. If it is edited, it really falls into a third category of art… a tertiary art. It reflects less on the human being than primary art. It begins to reflect on more of the external influences that shape the human being, such as society, upbringing, and other influences.
Edited art has its own merits. But I find the struggle to strip to the essence of who we really are, to create something that reflects as much as possible of the entire human being, much more enticing, personally. I’m obsessed with this form of honesty. I would like to code every edited version with its own key to show when it was edited.
All of my Planet Heart designs came out, unedited. I never re-drew over old images. I analyzed the parts that looked imperfect and used these imperfections to feed into the creation of what Planet Heart is and who the Heartlings are. Every doodle and crooked line became a part of the story. That helped make Planet Heart so original and so much a product of my gut. It’s the reason it is all so personal and satisfying as well.
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