Art is defined as the expression or application of human creative skill or imagination to produce works to be appreciated for their beauty and emotional power. When you think of art, you might primarily just come to think of a more visual art such as paintings or drawings, but art is so much more. Art includes skills and practices such as writing, the visual arts, music, and dance, to only name a few. Almost all of us enjoy some sort of art, if not practice some kind recreationally. Making and enjoying art gives us a personal and infinite space to go to to freely express ourselves and to escape our everyday and sometimes mundane reality. Most of us probably enjoy some kind of art every day — watching a favorite television show, reading a novel, journaling and drawing, for example. I believe that we crave entertainment in our lives and also want to entertain others, so making and enjoying some kind of art, I think, comes natural to us. Art is obviously very important, if not for any other reason in the world other than keeping us somewhat sane in this, more often than not, chaotic world. Which is why we need it now more than ever.
It's becoming more and more difficult to look out into the world and not feel hopeless — at least if we're all honest here. Our world is a very violent, hateful and unfair place. Wars rage, constant terror attacks bombard our TV screens and politics are essentially the same as ever — grimy, untrustworthy and mildly concerning. With all of that, it's easy to want to run away. Run away to a different place, maybe one that feels safe and warm, or one that feels completely new and exciting. Immersing yourself in art can let you do this. And I believe we desperately need it.
If you're not able to hop in the 'ol automobile and hit the road until you're on empty, or book an expensive plane ticket, then art is there for you. Get comfortable and start that critically acclaimed trilogy that's been sitting on your bookcase for months. Don't want to read? Write. Create your own story and let your imagination come out of hiding. If you want some more color in your life, go buy some paint or colored pencils and just release everything inside you on a fresh, untouched canvas. Do you want something more active? Then get up and dance! Move in some weird, probably unattractive way that is uniquely personal to you. The great thing is that art can be anything you want it to be, maybe something that has been thought of or created yet. As long as your mind gets a little loose and thinking creatively, and not to mention gets to leave the real world for a little while, then you're good to go.
I think art — making it and enjoying it — is so important for us as humans, especially now more than ever. There is so much negativity in our daily lives and the world around us, that it's difficult to not let it get to you. It's healthy and I believe completely necessary to get away and go off, if only mentally, and create and enjoy something beautiful. Maybe if we all did this more and focused less on the negative aspects of life around us, then our own environment would become a more hopeful and beautiful place. My favorite writer, Neil Gaiman summed it up quite well in his now famous Make Good Art speech at the University of the Arts 2012 graduation ceremony. In sum, when life is is bad, bland, or just plain horrible, you make good art. You create something, and if not then you go and enjoy some sort of artistic creation and let yourself get lost in it. It seems to be that people, myself included, need to go get lost a little bit more.
