Art is something that we come into contact with everyday, but still seems to be underappreciated and forgotten. It really is one of the most important things in daily life, yet we somehow manage to ignore its relevance and importance. Every icon we tap, every web page we browse, every game we play, was conceptualized and thought of by a designer. Each piece of interaction was conceptualized, created and rehashed for what we can imagine is a countless amount of times. Yet, the work and effort put into these creations is forgotten easily as we encounter them everyday.
Art changed my life. I can say this very earnestly. When I was a child, I enjoyed cartoons and drawings, as well as the illustrations in picture books and took note of the them; however, I never really understood art until I had grown up a little bit. As I grew and began doing art of my own, I began to understand the amount of time and effort that went into each work I enjoyed, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant they were. I learned that art is something that comes from nearly nowhere, you are inspired to conceptualize and create something that potentially really doesn’t exist. This is an important feat of the human mind in and of itself. The imagination behind the works that we see everyday is lost when we can easily swipe past them or drive by without a second glance.
Growing as an artist, I also learned about the amount of time it takes to create a work of art. Each medium has its benefits and downfalls that must be learned and reworked over a lifetime by an artist. Techniques are gained and each artist has their own style and method that makes each work incredibly unique. It’s very easy to see that, although some artists work may be similar to others, each work of art is one of a kind. The amount of learning and time spent creating a piece of art, whether it be a kinetic sculpture or icon on a web page is nothing to be scoffed at or forgotten. A lifetime of learning and creating led to the creation of that specific piece, so why is it so easy for us to look past that?
Overall, some people just forget that some things really are classified as art. It’s easy to forget that a like button, a web page's icon, a mural or even an album cover was thought about and created by an artist and designer. We simply manage to take these things for granted because we see them everyday. However, we need to learn to appreciate their value again, even if it’s just for a moment. Art has changed drastically throughout all of human history, and that has allowed us to get to the point we are at now. We are able to interact with art, associate certain icons with certain things, and share our lives with friends visually. Art is so important for the soul and it allows us to communicate visually without even having to say a word. That is a pretty amazing thing. Globally we are able to recognize certain visual cues and icons that we associate with other things, giving us a sense of familiarity and home. Even though art can be small and seemingly forgotten, it should not continue to be underappreciated.
