Why Is Art So Important To Us?
Why is art important? Its greatest importance can be found within the preservation of culture.
Through the millennia of history we can see through archeology that a culture can be known first through its art. Many of our definitions for historic cultures come from this view.
The nonsense of Plato should be put to rest with this impact through art alone.
Capturing the significance of our culture today is perhaps more relevant than other periods of history. Some will try to use art for other purposes such as social change or political movements, yet this falls short of its real importance.
Art is a picture, a snapshot in time if you will, to fingerprint a social culture in that time. The Norse is a great example of how history can be skewed.
It was through archeology that the depth of these people were found. A part of this depth is discovered by their art.
Decline Of Art Importance In Modern Times
If one studies art from a historical view then looks at our modern world today, there is a stark contrast in how art is used. Likewise how art is impacting our modern world is very different than that of history.
It would seem that in many areas science has replaced the fingerprint for art in our time. There is a hidden danger in this culturally.
In looking at the Egyptian or Chinese cultures you can find how art was wrapped into every aspect of life. It helped to define social class as well as positions of power.
The landscape itself was covered with their art as a mark of identity for the people. Today you can still find an imprint of these values within some nations such as China and Japan.
In the West art is viewed very differently. Rather than being a fingerprint of culture, it has been downgraded in importance to such as decor or products, not art.
There is a very real threat to traditional art and how we perceive it in life. This lack of importance is proven with how little focus is given by public education.
To make matters worse is the impact of the maker community upon art. An army of small home businesses which mass produce artsy items for sale has devalued the importance of art within our society.
Great nations of history measured their culture through art. By contrast, using Google to give results could be a measurement of our culture today. Our return values would be products for terms that should hold greater depth to who we are.
It would seem we have lost all artistic expression in our modern time. The artists of today must return to foundational values.
Misplaced Focus Of What Is Important To Culture
If an archaeologist performs a dig 5 thousand years from now… what would they find? Perhaps a pile of cell phones and laptops or televisions. There would be little of real substance or expression left which could be accessed.
Is our identity as fragile as this faux digital world?
Historically art was a way of uniting people with an identity. The way pottery was made will tell the story of when and who made it.
A painting will do the same and give insight to the period of time the artist lived within. These marks of culture are part of that identity and are often consistent from artist to artist within a period of history.
Our modern world has lost much of this culture. Artwork has been replaced by faux deco as it is not seen as being important.
The artistic life today survives in spite of our present culture. It is often as a hobby rather than being able to perform greater works of art. For reasons such as this I believe the historical answer of why art is important cannot be applied equally to our modern world.
We indeed have many more things than any society within history. Yet the objects we seek and gravitate to involve wheels and screens rather than cultivating our culture.
With our great modern achievements something important has been lost.
Art Preservation And Past Links To History
The critical importance within our time is to preserve the art forms for the sake of posterity so that it is not lost to history. Much older art forms such as basket weaving, blacksmithing, and even wood carving are slowly being snuffed out in the night.
Drawing and painting will fare much better yet even these are slowly being impacted. More focus is placed on fan art now than true artist development or structure. It is about cheap tricks for a quick profit.
The physical arts whether it be stone work, wood art, or drawing, connected people to something which was real. It held ties to meaning which was related through the artist into their works.
This tells a story of origin and also its purpose to what the work was to say. This is completely lost within the art decor world. Artists today must preserve this intimate definition of art.
There is nothing within the manufactured world that can capture that meaning.
Artists are a link to the past. Embodied within them and their art is a historical significance and identity to who we once were. It is my opinion that art is in peril more so today than any other time of history.
It is imperative that we preserve this link to our past. I also believe it is imperative that we teach our children these arts not only for their preservation but also to inspire creativity.
The problem with the modern world is the boxes we create. Every screen has an app that is a virtual box with its limitations that only allow you to go so far.
Children today spend such a significant amount of time within those boxes that their creative growth cannot exceed past them. Art is fluid in that it is only limited by the imagination.
There was a time when ones creative imagination could be measured by what they could create. Children grew learning some art form even if only simple and functional to their world.
These skills became a part of developmental growth which fostered creativity. Within our modern world we have begun to shift away from creation and into a falsetto identity pegged to an app and profile.
The Importance Of Art Today Is To Dare To Dream
I have a view that is perhaps terrifying for some. When I see our children struggling to gain as many likes, shares, or follows as they can it is disturbing.
When their identity is tied to a mass collective it begins to shape a herd mentality that is damaging to individuality and self image. As our culture continues to march forward we see anxiety rise and mental health declines.
Suicide has become one of the greatest killers of our time.
We were not meant to be placed within a box. While we all may be equal when it concerns law, no one is equal in talent or our capacity to dream.
If we were meant to be as interchangeable as a brick within a wall of society then it is a society I want no part of. We are all in fact like unique stones with different shapes and colors that form the wall of society.
If one is removed then it cannot be replaced but rather is missed.
It is my belief that the importance of art today is that it holds the keys to waging a war against many ills within our world.
If we dare to dream again and discover who we really are in talents and gifts we can change our world.
If we look to our very design and purpose to impact others around us for good we can shape a better future. This begins with exploration and discovery within art.
It is unfortunate and sad that artists have forgotten how to find art inspiration outside of a Google search. Art Appreciation is a term that now only exists within formal circles.
You are more than a profile or a like. Your impact reaches beyond a share. What you give the world cannot be found within a box and a screen.
Your dreams are only limited by what you can imagine and create. To give our society back the gift of art would foster creation and identity that we have come to lose in modern times.
With this we will begin to remember. Indeed art is education. It ties us to who we once were bringing us back to our roots. Here we remember where we came from.
We then can look to the future of what we can create. Inspiration doesn’t happen by chance.
The Future Importance Of Art
There is no doubt that the future of art is uncertain. I personally do not believe that it will go away. Although I do think that we will lose some forms to history.
Art will undergo a transformation process in theory that will cause it to be reshaped. This is already self evident through the losses of guilds and the struggle of galleries around the world.
The present art community is among the more difficult communities to thrive within. Pressures internally and externally threaten the very merit of institutional thinking.
On local levels this same community is often driven to levels of competition that it should not see. Artists unfortunately fail to see who they really compete against.
Yet I do have hope. As long as there are people within the world who feel this emotion and desire to express a meaning, then art will persist.
I am in no way against a modern society or the things which it can bring. Advances that aid our lives are wonderful.
It is the unintended side effects where we as a culture have overindulged to tie our identities to virtual worlds that we struggle against.
It may be that art itself can help to reverse this side effect if more focus was given to it for the benefits it gives.