It is no secret that entering art as a field of study is greatly frowned upon. Many think that there is no promise of a stable future with a career in the arts. This influence has made many people shy away from creating art and associating themselves as an artist. I know that I can never diminish all the preconceived thoughts people have towards the artist, but I hope to shed a little light on both the definition of an artist and why art is more necessary that many think.
Many think that an artist is solely a person in Paris who wears a red and white striped shirt with an easel attached to their hip. Or perhaps a person who is gazing at a beautifully lit lake trying desperately to capture every detail and every shade of blue on their canvas. This particular person is called a visual artist. What many people fail to see is that there is more than one type of artist. A magician is an artist. The architect that designed Soldier Field is an artist. A gardener is an artist. Even the person who created the chair you now sit in is an artist. With that said, the definition of an artist is very loose and can be interpreted in many ways. For one example, an artist is a person who creates. Whether they create a composition or an idea. An artist creates things to bring into the world rather than consume it.
The goal of an artist is the reason we need them the most. Artists want to make people think and question the world around them. This is incredibly important for society. If we did not question the why things are they way they are, there would never be change. Sometimes we need a painting or a song to help ourselves question why things are they way they are, to realize that we need change.
Art also plays a role in healing. This can be the healing of the artist themselves or the viewer. I create art usually because of two reasons, to get my mind off of something, or to think deeper about it. A person might look at the canvas of a girl in a red dress surrounded in a field of green. They might suddenly be overwhelmed with the memory of their childhood and their own red dress they once wore. They then find themselves in a daydream about the hardships they had in their childhood. I once wrote, “looking at art is like finding a piece of myself that I never knew was lost.” When engaging or creating art, it takes work from the mind and body. In this process, both the artist and viewer can reflect on their lives.
Art is a language. It is a language that the artist and the viewer have. In an even bigger picture, sometimes art can be a language between cultures. It is sometimes the only way cultures can relate and communicate between. While we might not understand why some people practice certain things within their religion, we can still find similarities between one another. For instance, once in Chicago, I saw a diverse group of people designing a garden together. I believe they were part of an organization to help save their neighboring ecosystem. There were Caucasians, African Americans, Chinese, and many more people joining this effort. They all stood with their backs against the sun. Conversating in different ideas on how the garden should look. I wondered if their desire to save their ecosystem was the only thing they had in common. Either way, in that moment they all shared the same dirt on their knees and intention.
Make art not war. Let's use art to bring people together, not tear them apart. Art is more important than we give realize or give recognition. Without it, we would live in a world of black and white. We would live a world that has less meaning.