The Bee

My friend and I decided to visit Berkeley this summer to audit lectures before college and to visit a friend who was taking classes. As I walked out of one lecture hall, I spotted a bee hovering above a bush, zipping back and forth between flowers. I waited for the preoccupied bee to land before taking the photo. I thought nothing of it then, other than a photo that captured an intimate moment in nature between two interdependent species, but I now find that it portrays the role between the designer and society in a number of ways.

Just like the bee that flies from flower to flower to draw nectar and, ultimately, to make honey, an artist draws inspiration from different works of art to create a single masterpiece. Even the greatest artists that ever lived drew inspiration from sources outside themselves, one predominantly more often than the rest: nature. The flowers can also represent the different people an artist keeps in mind as he or she designs. Every time the bee lands, it leaves behind a slightly different blend of pollen from the previous landing as it picks up a new variation, like the artist that adds fresh ideas to his palette with each project he slaves away for, altering his approach or picking up techniques used by other artists, gaining experience and stray bits of wisdom along the road.

The relationship between the bee and the flower is one that must be mutual. The bee gathers nectar from the flower, but in return, it helps pollinate the flower. An artist would be nothing if the audience neither criticized nor praised. The audience, on the other hand, wouldn’t care for the artist’s work if it was too abstract to comprehend. Both the artist and the audience must reach an equilibrium in which one side benefits as much as the other.