Week 13 — Art Idea Essay — Art!
What is art? According to Wikipedia, art is “a diverse range of human activities involving the creation of visual, auditory or performing artifacts (artworks), which express the creator’s imagination, conceptual ideas, or technical skill, intended to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines art as “the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects.” On the other hand, the famous Leonardo da Vinci stated that art is “the Queen of all sciences communicating knowledge to all the generations of the world.” The Greek philosopher Aristotle stated that “Art completes what nature cannot bring to a finish.” Clearly, it is difficult to formally define art. On top of that, different people may define art differently based on their own beliefs, ideals, and life experiences. Art to one person might not be art to another and vice versa. In the end, you cannot really define art. Or can you?
At the beginning of the semester, I defined art as anything someone could create by manipulating materials or ideas in a way to express an emotion or concept. This was a really broad definition because I did not want to limit or confine what art could be. As we are nearing the end of the semester, I still agree with this definition. I do not think art should be restricted because it is an expression of the artist’s imagination and creativity. Even though different people may have a different perspective on what is art and what is not art, that is what makes art art. Not everyone has to see or feel the same thing; in fact, people being able to see different ideas or feel different emotions from an artist’s work is what truly makes something artistic in my eyes. Overall, art is what the artist and audience make of it. Using art to share emotions and concepts is just the beginning, but using art to connect and grow together as humans is the real end goal in my mind.
Because of that, art is very involved in human life, even if it looks like it is not. For example, I plan to get my Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science and Policy at CSULB and then get my Master’s in Environmental Science at a university outside the country. Career-wise, I would like to work in a government organization or agency, such as the Environmental Protection Agency in the United States, as an Environmental Scientist. I want to use my career to advocate for legislation that will further sustainability efforts and the protection of the environment. As a scientist, it may seem as if art is not really necessary in my field. However, art could most definitely contribute to my career because I can use it to share my love of nature and furtherly advocate for protecting the environment. Photography especially could be an important art aspect involved in my career. Since my career contains a political aspect as well, design will also be important in what I do. On top of being relevant in my chosen career, art will definitely continue to be involved in my life. I have always loved art and been exposed to it, mainly because my grandfather was an artist for a newspaper company for over 30 years. My love for art, specifically painting, came from him teaching me and enriching my life with art from the beginning. Because of that, art will always be a part of my life. I would love to continue growing as an artist by experimenting with different art forms in my free time, as well as continuing to see art throughout my life and the world as a whole.
Since art is so involved in our lives, it absolutely matters! Art is what provides life with some variation and creativity. Art allows people to connect and grow, as well as express themselves. Without art, artists, and artistic impulse, I feel like the world would be so sad and depressing. Day to day life would become so dull and just lifeless overall. Taking everything related to art out of the world would completely change the world as we know it, especially because a lot of people do not realize how often they experience different arts in their daily life. And how do these arts affect us as humans? The NEA’s past slogan, “a great nation deserves great art,” makes one think that we will see and grow from great art by being a great nation. I agree with this because I think there is a lot we can learn from art, but I also think it is actually backward in a way. What if great art is actually what makes a great nation? I think this version is actually more accurate because I do not see how a nation could be great without some aspects of great art. From there, we need to take advantage of that great art and use it to grow as artists and human beings.
Overall, I have loved being in this art class this semester. It provided me with a break from and different perspective than all my other classes, which were primarily focused on academics and learning. This class, on the other hand, allowed me to grow and think as an artist and see how art is involved in so many aspects of life. While the lessons we learn in our other classes are important to our careers, I think we also need to appreciate the lessons art teaches us about ourselves and the world as a whole.
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