what is the purpose of art?
To answer this question you have to first ask yourself: what is art? In its most basic form art is an expression or application of human creative skill or imagination. Artists and philosophists will define it differently calling it “a piece of the soul” or a way to communicate outside of language. But some will claim it’s just a silly representation of imagination. So what is the purpose? Is art supposed to awaken something within us or just be something beautiful to cast our attention towards?
The past few days I’ve been haunted by this question (for some reason it’s been coming up in my algorithm), especially since Met Monday. The Met Gala is one of the most extravagant demonstrations of art. A red carpet to display fashion and celebrities, a musical performance, and of course the Costume Institute exhibit on the chosen theme. It’s a show a party and an extravaganza all rolled into one. Magazines write articles about it for days, invisible people judge looks from behind screens all in the name of fashion's biggest night. And it truly is fashion's biggest night. Tickets cost over $75,000 per person and this past year the event raised about $26 million for the Costume Institute. Not to mention all the money photographers, bloggers, and journalists will make for covering the evening. It might rival Taylor Swifts' impact on cities, but most art isn’t done to raise money.
Most art doesn’t generate any revenue. People who post their photography on Instagram aren’t making anything off of it. There are tons of wanna-be young artists posting music to Spotify and SoundCloud hoping to be discovered. I don’t make any money off this blog. All the creatives out there create because they love to. It’s an expression of themselves. But is it for them? Do we share our art with the world for others to appreciate? Or judge? Or to hopefully one day make money?
These are questions I’ve been asking myself long before I wondered what the general purpose of art is. I wondered what is the purpose of my art. The answer is: I usually don’t know until after I’ve finished a piece. JR, a well-known French street photographer expressed the same sentiment in his TED talk. He asked the question “Can art change the world?” As he tried to answer this question the subjects of his photography wondered why he did what he did. He told them he wanted to break down barriers. But that begs another question- is it art’s purpose to break barriers in society? And does breaking those barriers change the world?
After watching his video which you should also do- I think the answer is simple. Art can provoke thought. Maybe it breaks barriers simply by its ability to change how a person thinks about another person or group of people. Often it feels like my blog posts have more questions than answers. A by-product of my effort to explore new ideas, question myself, and educate myself. Hopefully, I’m helping you ask the same questions as you read this.
However, you have to acknowledge that all art isn’t to provoke thought. Sometimes there is no meaning. It’s just fun. Vouge’s Entertainment Director, Sergio Klentoy said he’s not “saving lives” with his work. It’s just fun! Dumb and Dumber wasn’t made to make you wonder the meaning of life. It was made to make you laugh, maybe cringe a little, but generally just not think too hard. I think there is a lot of art out there like this. It really is just a piece of the artist's soul they wanted to share with the world. For what purpose? I’m sure it varies. From fame to just good vibes art is at its core an expression. How you interpret it is the bigger question.
xx Ciara
Further reading (and watching):
The Power of Art: Does Art Really Change the World We Live In?