Why Art - Aislinn Langley

Why art? Well, why not art? In a world largely based on answers and solutions to problems and prompt communication, art serves as an outlet for emotions we might not be otherwise able to express. Art can allow us a method of communication that transcends a simple exchange of words. Art is an exchange of feelings.

The role of the artist is to open a express something - a feeling, an idea, a view - in a way that can be universally understood or felt. The primary responsibility of the artist is to have a purpose. This could be a message that is clearly displayed, or a more subtle theme that is repeatedly hinted at. Or the purpose of art could purely be fun and entertainment. Other than that, the artist doesn't really have responsibilities or obligations to those who take in the art, in whatever medium it may be. An artist merely creates and steps back. Interpretation is left to viewers and consumers.

Language arts are set apart from other arts by their similarities to more basic forms of communication. A text chat with one's friends, an essay for school, a work of Shakespeare or Vonnegut: all are composed of words. While other kinds of art have their own mediums (music, paint, marble), literature is the art of making something meaningful out nothing but words.
  
Anyone who creates something, be it music, poetry, or countless doodles in the margins of last year's calculus, is an artist. I would, by this definition, definitely consider myself an artist, even if my calc doodles were mostly second rate.