What Is The Purpose Of Art?
Purpose of art is something which has been sought since the age of Plato. Within this modern time we too fail to see its purpose and do not place enough importance on what it offers.
Ultimately the answer to the purpose of art is found in artistic expression. This expression is used to capture a time, a culture, a conceptual view through the artists eyes.
There are two ways historically in which this question of purpose could be answered. Many have attempted to do so philosophically within Art Theory.
We must understand the roots of the philosophy to know the purpose of art. It is from here we begin to see what is genuine artistic meaning.
Was Plato Right About The Purpose Of Art?
Plato was famous for stating that if art is a mere copy of what is represented within the real world then it is worthless. Art imitating life he believes has no meaning.
Our education systems seem to place about the same level of importance on art as Plato did. Yet the divisive nature behind this thinking goes far deeper.
Plato continued by stating that art can teach dangerous things and thus is a danger to a society. Perhaps Plato saw the future of what something like Hellenistic Art would bring and it caused him to fear the outcome?
What would come despite his philosophical reservations was a dynamic growth in arts. Here is the real irony….
The very purpose of art in capturing a society and a culture is what aided in preserving Plato’s very existence. Classical Art itself represents his time that otherwise would be lost to history.
This very reasoning should clearly demonstrate why art is important. It serves a purpose beyond its mere existence for aesthetic influence.
We have seen our systems silence some art just as they have done free speech. Political art has caused artists to be attacked and some have attempted to shut them down.
The mentality of silencing an opposing view has been with us since the dawn of time. It has been used by every dictator and maniac of history.
The founders of the United States believed in an open forum where all voices could be heard whether they agreed with it or not. It was called the battlefield of ideas.
Generations would be required making attempts to perfect this idea. Unfortunately today this still is not perfect.
If anything we have lost more than we have gained. Clearly if a free voice through speech and art can be so dangerous to society then Plato himself was in contradiction to his own idea.
If he was right in the concept of Mimetic art, then how could there be any danger?
To lay claim that an expression is not important contradicts the idea of it being dangerous. If it is dangerous then clearly it is important.
Creative art expression is our voice, emotions, thoughts, impressions, ideas, and how we see the world. What could be more important than this purpose in art?
Purpose Of Art As Freedom Of Expression
I am by no means a big Picasso fan. I have written on his ideas and portions of his life in the past.
I also do not necessarily believe nor agree with many of his ideas. Yet what is so interesting about him and his life was the era in which he lived and the impact he had on society.
He realized the important changes which were taking place within his world and time. By utilizing this shift in culture he rose in popularity by becoming a voice within it.
The seeds of Mid Century Modern Art were planted within his lifetime. He and his friends held great sway in aiding that development.
Whether these changes were to the good or the bad of that time is less important than the function which he served. In the face of opposition he still used his work to express his ideas.
His work moved within the transition of eras from Art Nouveau to Art Deco. The groundwork which was laid aided in cultural changes for nearly 100 years.
Freedom of expression is imperative as an artist. Without it then art loses its purpose. Additionally the future view of that culture is distorted by what history will leave behind if it is lost.
While we claim to value free speech, which is debatable in its own right, we treat art as if it holds no value. They are in fact tied together as one albeit different vehicles of expression.
It is unfortunate that art is treated with either indifference or in some cases limited by what is acceptable. Our bodies of power have unwittingly taken the mind of Plato to begin down a path we should never go with philosophy in art.
I have no doubt that at some point in the future they will turn from this to the mind of Oscar Wilde. Here art will be free as long as it agrees with the narrative, and then shut down when it disagrees.
Here we move beyond mild neglect and ignoring to active attacks upon those who oppose the approved ideology.
A Danger In Losing Our Purpose In Art
The cliché of “if your friends jump off a bridge would you do it?” come to my mind. Where the masses go often is not an end that one wishes it to be.
Within true freedom of artistic communication you should have many different voices of opinion creating debate and argument. It appears chaotic.
Culturally we are sick. Picasso was fighting the Monarchist thought of Victorian culture within the movements of his time. Through the Surrealists he found a harbor that was safe and friendships were made.
It was their purpose of art which brought them together within their time. It was purpose that bonded the friendships to become what they did.
They were a counter culture to an idea which began to die after World War 1.
Today we have seen many failures within the art community and others continue to struggle.
Art galleries have faced financial problems unlike any other time since the mid 20th century. Guilds themselves have shrunk and some I personally know have disbanded.
Our art culture has begun its shift away from institutions by the necessity of our time. Explosive growth online has caused fierce competition.
In many cases prices for original works have dropped. New Media Art alone has caused a divergence in traditional thinking surrounding art.
Online hubs where artists can display their work have seen growth in members as many compete. Then there are those who go out on their own away from these congregated masses.
Could it be that because of this modern age of the internet that the purpose of art will survive? I can only hope.
It certainly creates a unique opportunity in the face of a struggle within a market that has seen hardships over the past years. It is here we find a unique junction within our time.
The powers of the world might can dictate what is acceptable, but speech and art seem to always find a way to reach out. This chaotic disorganization that artists find themselves within more each day offers this outlet to reach the world.
No longer are we dependent upon the institutional structures that once formed our art world.
Our Future Purpose And Direction Within Art
As artists are forced to the alternate means of self promotion and the online world, I have hope that this freedom of expression will continue forward.
It is within the online world that each artists can share their expression existing as a voice which cannot be moderated for approval. To what end this serves whether for good or the bad is not yet to be determined.
The beauty of freedom is that the destination is not always charted. There is no grand architect steering us to their end.
We should as artists accept our time and treat it as an opportunity. We need to make our artistic development focused to this end.
Our purpose is for more than making money with art. Our art is to capture our culture in a representative documentation of our time.
It is to express our ideas, thoughts, struggles, and emotions. If we remain pure to this idea and purpose of art then we in turn will stand out from those masses.
We have an opportunity to shape our time, or speak out against it, or share our concepts within it. We have the perfect vehicle for this opportunity.
It is a vehicle which Picasso never dreamed of. With a click of a mouse innovative artists can share to the world globally each impression which we have. In this way no other artist in history could have such a voice.
Purpose Of Art Is Lost In Education
Art education is important and necessary. If only from a clinical view one needs to know and understand its history.
The purpose of art though is another matter entirely. Education within the lower levels such as high school art is becoming completely lost.
Many schools have shut down programs for this education and others are limited due to budgets. While I hate this perhaps there is a silver lining to this problem.
These young artists will still be what they were born to be irregardless of the lack in provision through education. Through this their minds will gravitate to a more pure expression without formative thinking at such a young age.
Those within these education systems question the importance of these classes and focus on math and sciences.
It leaves an open vacuum where they hold little influence. The next generation which comes may hold more influence than we realize.
In order to create and maintain a narrative requires that one also form the foundations of it within young minds. Here is where the architects of social structures fail to capture the future.
The more that a people are pushed into a single view the more a human mind in the end will ultimately question its validity.
To this end by missing a key component of expression through art these young artists may be able to form their own ideas. This may test the dangers which Plato long ago believed was true and now we need it.
It may also be the salvation to a better representation of what our culture has become to future generations.
My Divergence In Thinking
My answers and commentary here are clearly divergent from clinical thinking. Yet it is here that philosophy and application meet.
Often where this takes place our classroom theology is broken and the application becomes chaotic.
Real life does not happen in a classroom. These elitist of thought only ever attempt to understand through their lens without experiencing the life that is lived.
Thus the philosophies they derive are often skewed or jaded based upon their opinion which has no experience.
While I stand in opposition to Oscar Wilde for I am no socialist, nor will I ever be, I must respect that he lived what he believed. While an immoral man who indulged in his full liberties his work existed in the real world of his time.
I do classify him as a lunatic with visions of an unrealistic Utopian world while seeking to suppress others which opposed his thoughts.
Nevertheless he did not reside purely within the academic realm. It would not be until the 1930’s and 40’s that we would see the fruits of this ideology impact the world through another war.
Collective thinking always arrives at the same place no matter how it is branded or packaged. No matter how good the intentions are or the promises that are made it still returns to that same place.
I am reminded of Rudyard Kipling and his poem “The God’s of the Copybook Heading” for it captures this principle.
The remaining question is, how far will we as a society go before we see our error once again? Intentions speak nothing to the end.
Ones ideal world says nothing to the reality of our arrival where we find ourselves. Freedom of expression, no matter how much we disagree with it, must remain.