One of My Own Works "Venus" in the style of classical works such as Botticelli's "The Birth of Venus"
Introduction
When I was younger I went through a phase where I became highly judgmental of artistic endeavours.
I think this was in part an attempt to deal with my own cognitive dissonance over being unable to pursue my artistic hobbies.
I was gearing up for University and there was less and less time to pursue "frivolous" activities.
It also seems that this is an attitude that is promoted by certain academics who are very scientifically minded but seem to have some sort of grudge against artistic endeavours.
When we are young we tend to be more impressionable and open to such influence.
Art is not frivolous though. It is just as important as any other pursuit. - Great thinkers like Leonardo Da Vinci understood that.
I would also argue that there is not such a clear delineation between artistic pursuits and science anyway.
Art is Hard to Define
Say the word "art" to most people and I think they would imagine a painting by an old master or some other expression of visual art.
Of course this is a very limited view of what art is. Just think of the other artistic modalities which most of us encounter on a daily basis.
There are the obvious ones like music (one of my favourites), movies and TV. There are also things we often don't think about as art - the architecture around us, the aesthetic design of the objects that inhabit our lives.
Clothes would be one obvious example but also consider your tablet computer, your phone, even your toothbrush.
-In almost all cases some kind of artistic or creative work has gone into producing its final form.
This brings me to one of my central points.
Art is not just a genre of human creativity, or indeed it's expression:
A Form of Thought?
Art is a form of thought.
-Or at least it can be.
I would go as far as saying that there is an element of art in all things. Even the most scientific of pursuits has "art" within it.
I remember when studying pure mathematics at school how I found that there was a certain beauty to mathematical expressions and equations.
One of my colleagues at school once asked our Maths teacher:
"What is the point of calculus - why should I learn that?"
The teacher answered:
"Because it's beautiful".
I think this was the perfect answer to a question many of us often ask.
There is a certain beauty to things which can strike us when we study them. In some respects one could say that art is finding the beauty in things we encounter.
Sometimes it can mean finding the beauty in that which is obviously beautiful, other times it can mean finding beauty in what others would find ugly.
Sometimes it is not clear at all where the beauty is and yet we still appreciate a piece of work because of the emotional response it triggers within us.
So perhaps art can also be about triggering an emotional response be it positive or negative.
What's the Point of Art?
It's a question that people often ask.
There are several ways of answering it. The first answer would be with a question:
Why does it need a point?
Another answer I have heard people say is:
Because it makes life better.
I would agree with this latter explanation, I think we are neurologically hard-wired to derive pleasure from that which we find beautiful but as I said art is not just about beauty.
I think the fundamental essence of art is that it places a metaphorical frame around something.
Whether that thing is beautiful, ugly or indifferent it then takes that thing and triggers some form of emotional response.
The emotional response can vary but ultimately a good piece of art makes us feel better for having experienced it (even when the initial response may be considered negative).
Truly great art not only creates an emotional response but it can also change how we think about a particular subject - it can shift our perspective.
I believe this is because it can cut through the defences of our rational minds and reach deep into our unconscious and preconscious minds.
We like to think that we are rational agents in control of our faculties but as I have said before we are just apes wearing clothes and pretending to be civilised.
Our rational minds are very much governed by our irrational and primitive (unconscious) desires.
Art can cut through all that "logical" crap that is little more than posturing by our egos.
This is why TV shows and movies can have a greater effect than actual real life events in shaping political policy and the greater societal consciousness.
I believe that art is one of the best ways of reshaping thought and bringing about change.
Conclusion
I think if you asked a hundred different people what art means to them you would probably get a hundred different answers.
To end I would like to mention some words a friend once said to me.
We were talking about science and art and he said:
"Science makes our physical lives better. Art makes our mental lives better."
It is not a perfect definition - I don't think there is a single definition that covers everything but I think this is an elegant way of looking at things.
What do you think? What does art mean to you?
Let me know in the comments.
Thank you for reading
