What is the Role of Art in Human Experience?

Humans communicate in various conscious and subconscious ways. We primarily use spoken language, but also gestures, facial expressions, and even emotions conveyed through energy like when you feel tension in a room between two people who are in a fight, or “awkwardness” between newly broken-up couples. Yet spoken or body language can only take us so far in our effort to truly interconnect with one another. Deep down, we understand that words don’t express our full and complete emotions. They can’t, and most of the time we run into the problem of not being able to express ourselves through words alone.

That’s where art comes in. Whether it’s in the form of paintings, statues, music, or dance, it gives us the opportunity to convey what we feel without having to speak in coherent and logical sentences. This barrier to translation, not just from one language to another, but from feelings (and even thoughts) to words is broken by art. When we look at a painting for example, we may not be able to say right away what it means to us. We may feel some connection, some like or dislike towards the piece of art, but we cannot turn to our friend and say that this painting gives us a “profound sense of belonging in the universe.” At least not right away. The important aspect though is that even when we do come up with words, they will never compare to the actual state of emotion. You cannot take your sensation, wrap it in a little package, and give it to someone else to feel and experience.

When writers create literature, they often find themselves struggling to find the right combination of words to depict an image. What’s interesting about literature is that it’s an art form that combines language with our own creative imagination. It makes a connection between the two, and just like storytelling in the old days, it communicates something deeper than just facts or random everyday conversations. Things like metaphors, similes, and other comparison devices have been created to lessen that barrier between true, emotional communication and words. So in some way, literature does mitigate that gap between speaking and feeling, but other art forms do an even better job.

Great art, in my opinion, should be something that causes an emotion. Whether it’s negative or positive isn’t the issue as long as it’s not indifference. Of course, this type of reaction is individualistic at its core. What one person weeps over, another person might walk by and disregard. Taste is as personal as the experiences we have throughout our lives. Without dwelling on the issue of nature vs. nurture, we are born and raised to accept and reject certain things in our life. Our favorite color depends on thousands of factors within ourselves that we may not understand, but it comes across as simple “taste”. This is what makes art such a delicate subject. Where one person may be awe-stuck while listening to a song, another may press the skip button on his player. It all comes down to whether we feel some connection – whether the art communicates with us.

Beauty, inspiration, pleasure, a sense of community, or a story are all varying factors that reflect human experience through art. It’s that reflection, the recognition of a similarity between the viewer and humanity that really makes art extraordinary. It may be something that the viewer and artist both feel, or have both experienced in their life. It might be a relation to the characters in the work of art, some fundamental action that is portrayed by them that makes a viewer stop and stare. It may also be a feeling that makes the viewer realize that he is a part of a bigger world and connects him to all people.

The emphasis is on emotion because it is a controlling force in our life and communicating emotions is not something that comes easily to most humans. Also, emotion is an exceptionally unique experience and simultaneously a very communal one. Most people know what it is to love. They may love a significant other, their parents, children, friends, or pets. Each relationship holds a different kind of love, but also, each person feels this love in a slightly different way. Yet we all, collectively, still have a subtle and basic understanding when someone says he or she is in love. When we look at art, that understanding doesn’t need to be stated. It is felt, and when a piece of art can convey that the appreciation for it is much greater.

Photo Credit: Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh, From the Lake Georgia O’Keeffe, In Bed: The Kiss by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec