Why Is Art Important in Life?

History

Beginning with prehistoric cave art and ceremonial figurines, and continuing through countless transformations to the cybernetic marriage of art and technology that is happening today, humans have been creating images of beauty: absorbing, interpreting, and reflecting their surroundings with paint, clay and many other materials. In the West, according to Frederick Hartt in his book "Italian Renaissance Art," most art reflected the dominance of Christianity for more than 1,000 years, until the Renaissance saw the emergence of a more humanistic art beginning in the late 15th century.

The universality of artistic creation is ample evidence that art is important within every culture. In his essay "The Aims of Art," William Morris wrote that "all men that have left any signs of their existence behind them have practised art." Fulfilling needs such as food and shelter may fulfill the "how" of life, but it is the deeper need for meaning, beauty, and connection that comprises the "why." The contemplation of beauty, even moreso when it is beauty created by ourselves or those we love, can contribute greatly to a life of meaning and connection, as opposed to an existence divorced from the greater whole.

Art, like humor, can sometimes by deadened when dissected too thoroughly. Writers as accomplished and diverse as Leo Tolstoy in "What is Art" and Susan Sontag in "The New Art, A Critical Anthology" have pondered the meaning and function of art, yet it remains a nebulous term. Perhaps Picasso, in an interview with Marius de Zayas in 1923, best captured the elusive nature of art when he wrote that "art is a lie that makes us realize truth."

The great art historian Ananda Coomaraswamy, in his book, "The Transformation of Nature in Art," wrote that "museums are the places were we've put the things that we've forgotten how to use." While museums have allowed millions to see the great works of art from throughout history, they also pose the threat of separating art from everyday life. William Morris believed that this separation was one of the causes of modern alienation, and that art should not be locked away in special buildings, but should be an integral part of society's daily life. When beauty and care are inherent in everything that is done, "art" in fact ceases to exist as a separate entity, and becomes an aspect of everything that we do.

The future of art remains uncertain. According to Morris, speaking of his admiration for medieval craftsmen who wed artistic vision with a mastery of handcraft, the reunion of the two could overcome the dichotomy between art and life, and lead to a culture re-infused with a sense of beauty, wonder, and singularity. A reunion of what we now know as "fine art" with the greater population of the world would, as Morris put it in his essay "The Revival of Handicraft," lead to "the unwearying pleasure of tasting the fullness of life."