Why Art? Three Views:

An Inside Job ~ Molly Whitehead

"Artists are not a prerequisite for the survival of mankind." - Floyd C. Kimble of Foundation for the Continuity of Mankind, a $40 million sperm bank in Spokane, Washington.

Art is like "singing on a boat during a terrible storm at sea. You can't stop the raging storm, but singing can change the hearts and spirits of the people who are together on that ship." - Writer Anne Lamott in Bird by Bird.

Ancient cultures made myths to explain mysteries beyond their ken. We moderns are no different. We seek in art a way to understand ourselves and our world. Religion and science are also paths we follow to make sense of our lives. But art is more personal and direct, a passionate engagement with life. Meaning would come easily, if only it were a secret straining to be told. But making meaning is like sewing a quilt from fragments of our experience; it can only be an inside job. No art work can resolve all life's contradictions; it may not clarify even one. But art reminds us that life is richer than we may perceive, something we know but easily forget. Art also demonstrates the way we derive meaning. Through her work an artist says, "I have made this much meaning for myself. It's possible; it can be done." Art holds this promise for both artist and viewer. Of all the arts, photography lays the strongest claim to truth without subjectivity. Still, within this technical, seemingly impersonal medium, the artist continually selects and portrays. And these choices cannot but reveal what she reveres. "What is it that the ... photographer loves or that he or she hates to the point of revelation?" asks novelist and photographer Wright Morris in Time Pieces. "Revealing what that is is the one thing that still doesn't come with the camera."

Abstract art presents another puzzle. With abstract paintings we suspend our expectations because we don't recognize what we see - a fresh view of a universe with new laws. Yet, if the painting is art, it feels inevitable. Though we can't say why, each color and shape could only have been that, every hue and texture feel exactly right. The result seems so effortless that people may say, "Anyone could do that." But this reminds me of ice skaters, blades flashing across a perfect surface, erasing with each trace a lifetime of painful workouts and half-healed injuries. The greater their grace, the more struggle behind it.

Our lives are complex indeed, and art lets us tell part of the tale. But our stories don't exist in a vacuum. Because they influence our feelings about the world, they affect our acts within it. Art may not be necessary to survival. But it replenishes our souls - the part of humanity we most cherish. Without it our vision would diminish. Like horses wearing blinders, we would resign ourselves to the reins, our wildness tamed and our curiosity defeated.

Bread and Painting ~ Mira Kamada

After 33,000 years, and despite all reports of imminent death, I note that painting is still alive and well. Since the late 19th century when photography freed painters from the need to record events, art scholars have pondered and predicted the death of painting. The noble art has had its ups and downs, its foes and followers, but the sensuous appeal of juicy color can't be denied. What can possibly replace the haunting quality of a Rothko in full bloom? Can our slick digital world offer anything that satisfies us beyond a moment's gratification? A flash of color, a clash of sound and in the next nanosecond the world is reinvented. Click Click Click. But painting is forever. Forever. Not the canvas nor the pigments, but the spirit, the power. A painting takes time. To connect with it requires a commitment from both artist and viewer. I talk of painting as art, not as decoration for your living room wall. It takes courage to love an ugly painting. It makes you question your values, your taste, your desire. Why would the artist create such work? Consider this and you take the first step.

Recently, I attended an opening of abstract paintings by a living artist. My first impression was disappointing, so I turned to the conversation around me. Then, something happened. A painting is just so many lines, shapes and colors on a surface. But from the corner of my eye I witnessed the forms on the wall realigning. The composition emerged. I entered the intimate world forged by the artist, and then saw what he saw - a wonderful world of shape, color, and rhythm, both spontaneous and carefully orchestrated, like jazz on canvas. I wasn't ready when I entered the gallery. I came with preconceived notions. To get there I had to suspend my critical eye. It takes time and patience to understand the unique language of someone's art. It doesn't require vast studies or a Phd in contemporary art. What it does take is the willingness to suspend prejudice.

Understanding and appreciating art is innate. Art speaks to us subliminally. The more we view really good art (and you will know it when you see it), the more discerning we become. Our eye becomes fine-tuned. The ability to appreciate lies deep within us all. This century has spawned new media never imagined in the past. We have radio, cinema, TV, video, digital art, multi-media art, and still we have painting. Why? I believe our technologies have outpaced us. We retain certain needs that are satisfied only by basics like bread and art. Some people go to chiropractors to get realigned. I visit my favorite painting in the local museum. If you think harsh words from an ungrateful boss have power, go look at a 17th century Dutch flower painting. For more than 33,000 years humans have been making pictures on walls. I would love to know why, wouldn't you?

So What About Art? ~ Wendy Angel

Art as a Manifestation of Consciousness

Art assumes significance when viewed as a manifestation of consciousness. Consciousness relates to the material world and art evolves as a function of this relationship. Consciousness seems abstract while its manifestations feel solid. But manifestation and consciousness are related much like matter and energy. Manifesting consciousness is akin to materializing energy. Ultimately, consciousness and its manifestation are the same "stuff". And this "stuff" is the form and content of human experience. Our existence includes elements that are physical, mental, psychological and intuitive. The arts are languages which express and communicate the substance of our being. So, art as the activity of manifesting consciousness, addresses the eternal questions about human origins, identity and destiny that Gauguin scrawled on his masterpiece. "D'ou Venons Nous? Qui Sommes Nous? Ou Allon Nous?" From where have we come? Who are we? Where are we going?

A Social Challenge

The world is plagued by political and criminal terror, violence and injustice. We witness both instant explosions and suffer decaying systems while pondering our potential for mass destruction. In the abyss life and sanity can be lost. So angst, despair and meaninglessness are familiar to our times. A system that does not embrace people humanely yields people who learn to be inhuman. It is inhuman to train a mind while neglecting physical, emotional and intuitive identity, as it is impossible to educate the mind apart from one's whole consciousness. When consciousness develops in denial and neglect, fueled by ignorance and cruelty, it manifests as violence and futility. But solutions are necessary and possible because we also retain a potential for progressive consciousness and constructive development. It is a challenge to choose integrity and resolve problems. It is a parallel challenge to explore how art informs our place in history.

Value in the Practice of Art

Art is inherently creative rather than destructive. The arts contribute to the education, experience and understanding of an individual and her/his place in the world. When a person constructs, composes, or choreographs an arrangement of shapes, sounds or motion, it is an act of art. Forming a "work" from silent and invisible awareness requires a constant flow of choices. The process of choosing to extract sense and order from chaos while making art enhances concentration and understanding, like stretching a muscle to make it more flexible. Making creative choices instills freedom and demands responsibility. So the practice of art empowers us as thinking, feeling and active beings. Vision, inspiration, standards, organization and problem resolution are skills developed while doing art. Art exercises our faculties to maintain conscious strength and flexibility. In this way practical art education is fundamental to a healthy society.

Art is a Constructive Contribution

An aesthetic encounter with art as experienced by an audience or viewer also contributes to personal and social enhancement. Beyond the personal enjoyment derived from art appreciation, a work of art provides an understanding of other perspectives and broadens our horizons. In art uniqueness is celebrated and differences are interesting, not threatening. Grasping the creative contribution of "another" human bridges individuals and cultures by neutralizing fear and alienation. The presence or absence of quality and sincerity in a work of art is exposed in the work itself. True art is never frivolous or exclusive and should not be associated with decorative commodities. Unfortunately, academic and commercial misconceptions and deceptions sometime misrepresent art in ways that make it seem anti-social, irrelevant or arbitrary. But it is vital that we adopt a substantial and inclusive attitude toward art because a rich and truthful language of art is necessary to civilization. The arts are a manifestation of hope that keeps humanity striving toward higher consciousness. Throughout the history of all cultures, the arts have been practiced and valued as a qualitatively significant aspect of human experience. They have evolved as forms of discourse that reach beyond our minds. Art in society sustains our lives, our sanity and humanity. Art is essential to the intellectual and psychological health of the individual and to the collective welfare of our communities and civilization.