FAFA Project – f*ck around, find art

WTF is FAFA?

I’m so happy you asked!

FAFA, or “fuck around, find art”, is an idea I’ve had rolling around in my brain for a long while now. A few years if I’m being honest.

It struck me one day when I was out walking in my old neighborhood. Near a set of train tracks, I happened to notice a small clump of wildflowers. I was beginning to explore soft pastels at the time and this lovely little token of summer seemed just perfect for a small colorful study so I whipped out my phone and snapped a photo. After a few pictures, my attention zoomed out and saw the area more fully. Surrounding the flowers was weeds & mud & trash, and just behind them was a tree line overgrown with vines. Slumped against the branches of some small shrubs, like it was having a rest on a hot day, was a dirty discarded mattress. I thought wow, isn’t it amazing that these things live next to each other. I thought a lot about the contrast I was witnessing, and about how lucky I was to have noticed the beauty in that scene. I mean here I was, just fucking around on a nice day in a spot not known for lovely scenery, and boom! I had managed to notice the small beautiful thing first. I was inspired. I had found art.

After that I started to consciously notice those juxtapositions more and more. It’s not a new concept, not to me or the world at large, but I was finally aware of it. And now I can’t stop noticing beauty everywhere, and I want you to notice it too. I want you to be inspired. I want you to find art.

Now I know that beauty is a relative term and wildflowers might not be your thing. Maybe it’s the shoreline. Old cemeteries. Dilapidated buildings. Rust. Fog. Decorated cakes. Anything that makes your eyes feel sparkly and your heart thump a little harder. Wherever you are, something beautiful exists. You just have to notice it.

And why should you? Because looking at beautiful things is good for us.

I’ll expand on that one of these days, but for now…go fuck around and find art.