Message 20/25
Date: 12-Feb-05 @ 10:49 PM Edit: 13-Feb-05 | 04:47 AM -
RE: why is art
Why?.Is it possibly because human beings ,after they have provided the basics of survival for themselves,feel the need to express their experience of existence to each other.It could be that need is born from the deep social instinct which binds us together as a species?As there is no purpose to life(in my opinion)except that purpose we ourselves give it, it may be that art is one of many ways to give meaning to an otherwise meaningless life.
Art can function as propaganda,as a measure of status,as emotional catharsis.The function of art explains why it exists and that function varies according to culture and individual.
Art can be viewed as a whole,as a record of human belief and aspiration used to inspire us,as well as being a record of our prejudices and lack of vision .Art the collective imagination made tangible for the consumption of the masses and the individual as a means of making sense of life.
It could have started as symbols possibly totemic in nature like the outline of a boar carved into a prominent rock meaning "This boar carved into the rock means that you have entered into the territory of the boar tribe who have as their protecting spirit the wild boar"The more fancifully executed the design the more leisure required to execute that design leisure in itself is suggestive of wealth,wealth of strength and confidence and so the message conveyed by elaborately decorated symbolism could be a deterrent to opportunist enemies.Like an elaborate way of puffing yourself up to make yourself look bigger to repel attack from potential predators.
If we look at it like this all art is a communication of one sort of another even if it is at the simple level of expressing your admiration for the beauty of a landscape by capturing it pictorially for others to get a hint of what it's like to see the world through your eyes,it helps to confirm our reality to each other as well as our dreams and it is possibly a comfort to us to realise that we are not alone in these experiences.
So maybe it's merely a psychological crutch.having our emotions excited in a pleasureable way makes a state of continued existence desirable.I think the use of religion runs along the same lines..