Art and plants thrive in fertile soil. For some, art is only there for the picking. They plant and harvest endlessly, with little thought of replenishing or rotating the crop.

But there are those artists and patrons who replenish, and in so doing, harvest a crop rich in both tradition and insight. Their soil encourages new growth and a mutation of endless varieties of new visual and tactile experiences.

And then there are those who plant a new variety of seed which germinates to become esoteric concepts. Their soil bears abundant fruit, rich in verbal, philosophical, social and political pronouncements for a chosen few. This crop is not a feast for the eye or touch of a hand, for such qualities are no longer recognized by these authors or their supporters.

Visual/tactile art is not literature, music or dance. What makes it unique is its ability to communicate visual ideas. When the visual/tactile experience no longer serves as the primary means of communicating, it may be an art form, but one whose definition serves another master.

© 2009 Richard Nelson