What is art? As I ponder the question, I recount the days that I perused through The High Museum in Downtown Atlanta, and huddled around an innovative piece by a Chinese sculptor called the Terracotta army. The structures were massive and still so highly detailed, even down to the smallest spectacle of toenails. So then I inquired to myself, “What was the sculptors purpose for creating this work?” However, it seems that posing a question of such orientation can provoke further inquiries. What is expression? How do we define it? And what is our purpose for doing so. The best answer I propose is a line that I borrow from a joint on Michael Jackson’s phenomenal “Thriller” album. For anybody that inquires the “why” of art, “tell them that it’s human nature.”
It is human nature to be compulsively expressive, and whether are not we are cognizant or take responsibility for doing so. Art is essentially one of many principles or disciplinary label we toss around to theoretically define our innate need for expression and relaying of emotions as human beings. Just as we reflect on music and literature often times within the constructs that as art forms, we can examine visual artistry as an abstract method for engaging expression and communication. Although it might redefined through different ideologies of thought, the concept of art has been around much longer than any of us can likely conceive.
- Art as An Agent for Historical Recount
In Ancient Egyptian art, hieroglyphics were used to transmit messages to its viewers. We can similarly identify the same theme in “art” transnationally and across the times which such historical creations as the architecture of The Parthenon in Athens, Greece and even The Great Wall of China. Works comprised convey real accounts of past events and allow us to have an understanding of the symbol that each construction displays before us.
- Art as An Agent for Aesthetic pleasure
There are various motivations for creating a piece that is worthy of such a “artistic” label. But the constraints of what identifies as art expands across aesthetic elements that are highly integrated into our every-day lives. Common enough, music, literature and dance can all be identified as art in the means by which we engage with them and the sensory appeal they evoke. Take for example classical compositions by Mozart and Beethoven, and even grassroots and underground that in many ways still appealed to forth-coming generations of listeners and even a number of contemporary music listeners. Dance such as ballet, jazz, salsa and tambour can be viewed similarly.
- Art as a storyteller and Art as an Agent for Change
Regardless of the medium used to convey it, it is undeniable that “art” in its entirety serves as a means for systematic storytelling. The impact of the art on the viewer has served as an exemplary tool for radical movements and the awaking of innovative thought. A crucial example of this is the birth of the “Age of Enlightment” in 18th century Europe.
Art by far is a critical component in our daily existence and critical culture that is continuously evolving and enhancing in structure. Art is reflective, real, obtuse and abstract in its nature yet regardless of the end-product, it still remains an entity that is birthed by an individual as a means of communication and societal as well as individualistic understanding.