Whenever people think about art, they almost always see it as an aesthetic painting kept in a museum or an exhibit. A lot of times, we think art only exists in some place or areas in our lives, but that is not true at all. Art is the expression of one’s soul and it exists everywhere and in everything you do.
Look around you and notice the structure of the buildings, the clothes you wear and the songs you listen to in your commute, it is all art. Here at SpoutFIRE, you will find out all about art and why it matters in our society.
What is art?
Art can be defined in different ways. According to Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, it is the ‘conscious use of your skills and imagination in creating aesthetic objects. Despite being true, this definition barely scratches the surface of what art truly is.
From the perspective of an artist, art is an activity driven by emotions and expressions, which are then transmitted through different mediums like painting, photography, sculpting and music. Professionals might even identify art as mastery or the ideal way of doing things. Regardless of how others look at art one thing remains to be true, we all define it based on how we experienced it.
Why is art important?
A lot of people who define themselves as ‘logical’ might tell you that art matters very little in the grand scheme of things and that science, math, and languages are the core of society and while all of those aspects are important, we can’t help but disagree about their opinion on art.
The best way to show you the importance of art is through the theory of Van Jones. According to Jones, four aspects define society and its members and these are the power-driven elites, dependent masses, governing bodies and the cultural producers or artists.
*The Van Jones graph
As you can see from the graph, the upper part covers the elites and below we have the masses. There are also inside and outside activities. The inside is mainly responsible for influencing the head or policymakers with their influence and money. Meanwhile, the outside act speaks of the common public and what they truly want, which is the heart or the ability to express.
While the left side of the graph shows quantifiable changes in society, the right side which dwells on ideas does its job by influencing the action that the elites and the masses do.
In the case of the head, it can come up with theories and academic principles which hardly leave an impact on the lobbyists or policymakers. But the heart space, where art is, has a unique position to move people by targeting what they desire through expressions, aesthetics and provocation.