As I have recently come to understand, and as my English teacher has explained, art and literature go hand in hand; together they shape history and they shape generations. As an AP English student for the past two years, reading the greatest works of all time: "Romeo and Juliet," "Beowulf" and "The Great Gatsby," I have yet to learn, until this past week, how important artwork is to literature.
Specifically, the Bible, has inspired so many works of art, hidden and found around the world for centuries. Luckily, my AP English teacher this year is also the Art History teacher at my school and educates my class on the importance of the Christ figure almost every week. Up until two days ago, I had no idea that Harry Potter, as a character, represents a Christ figure. I had no idea that every aspect of the characters we analyze draw perfect parallels with Christ.
I was especially lucky this week as I had the opportunity to visit St. John the Divine Cathedral and The Cloisters museum in New York City. I had no idea the influence of Christ in architecture, in Medieval paintings and in the Unicorn Tapestries. I didn't realize that everything in the Cathedral and The Cloisters represented religion and the idea of Christ. I didn't know the influence of art upon literature and the influence of art upon the classroom.
As I read further into every story and as I analyze deeper into every new piece of art and new character, I realize now how art and literature has shaped the world, and has, in turn, shaped me as a student in the past few days, and in the past few years. Art influences a classroom just as much as books and epics and newspaper articles do. Art influences creativity and emotion and knowledge as words and sentences and passages do. Art takes a story, 100 words long, or 100,000 words long, and embodies the entire work on a single canvas, in a single frame. It takes the most abstract and complex ideas and prints it two-dimensionally for the World to see.
With art there is no language barrier, no need for translation or a hard-bound cover. There is no need for explanation or interpretation. Simply, art expects thought and judgement without discussion. Art is the "food for thought" of the world and influences the classroom in unbelievable ways. It has influenced me in unbelievable ways.
