Art Is...

The Importance of Art/The Arts ~ Art (music, dance, writing, acting, painting, drawing, etc...), in it's purest form, is an expression of deep emotion from the artist. It is also an outlet for those deep emotions; a cathartic release. Many of the artistic geniuses through history suffered from mental illnesses. Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, Chronic Depression..., even before they had a diagnosis for these disorders. Art is Important to our Mental Health.

Art is also the thing that anthropologists look to as a missing link to unwritten history, because people express their reality in their art. The unrecorded history of historic subcultures have been discovered through historic artifacts. Many times those subcultures have been subjugated and intentionally left out of the dominant cultures history. Or defamed to cover up the mistreatment or abuse of a subculture. Art is Important to the Truth in History.

Art is also the thing that we as human beings learn to appreciate because of our connection to the art of certain artists. We appreciate certain songs, because they speak to our own pain, or heartache, or happiness. Music can touch us even without hearing one word of a lyric. It's that powerful! It is also the tying bond to cultures who may never even know how to speak each others language. Music has the power to make us get up and dance because we can actually feel it in our souls when certain songs are played. Art is Spiritual.

We can look at a painting or drawing and interpret it to mean something near and dear to our own hearts, even if others look at it in horror or confusion. Art is Subjective.

We can read a book and feel and understand every word of the writer. And sometimes even read it more than once, yet you can recommend it to someone else and they think that you lost your mind. They can't relate, but you can. Art is Relative.

It's the same with movies and the reason that diversity is important with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. No one can feel the experience of a culture, more than that culture. If you have all, or mostly, non Blacks on the motion picture board of governors, how can they ever appreciate a Black story on its own merit. Sure, they maybe able to appreciate a universal story told with a Black cast, but what about our own unique stories. They can't relate so they usually can't recognize the genius in a well told unique Black story. Art is Relative.

Art is a reflection of society and the artists experience. Many people dislike a lot of rap music because of the misogyny, violence, vulgar lyrics and all the negativity that some of it spews. If this is their reality, why would you censor it? I know that many believe that art affects the morality of the youth. But I believe that it's an expression of their reality. You can't squash their truth. (It's an age old debate. Does art imitate life, or does life imitate art?) Many times, these artists grow out of these lyrics because they mature and evolve into different people. Look at Ice Cube. He went from "F**k the Police" to playing a cop living in the suburbs in a couple of his movies. The same with Ice T. Art and Artists Evolve.

My point is that art is an extremely important human expression and I will never be for censoring an artist. I will use my wonderful ability to choose who and what I wish to enjoy artistically based on my personal relationship with the art of my enjoyment. And anything that I may personally find repugnant, I will use my same ability to choose, to not indulge. Also, attempting to censor any type of art, in my humble opinion, is to remove a part of history that can teach future generations a lesson or two. Art is History. ~L.A.F.~

Art by Gerd Altmann on Pixaby