Why art?
Art has been an integral part of every distinct culture for thousands of years. Developments have been made and have been accompanied by drastic changes regarding both the styles of art and the conceptions of what can qualify an object or expression as belonging to this category. Despite these changes, I feel that the fundamental purposes and effects of art have been relatively consistent, particularly in the time since the establishment of the Greco-Roman tradition.
So what are these functions? While there are numerous exceptions to any rule, it is my view that art has largely been a response to disenchantment or confusion with reality. As discussed in class, there are a plethora of examples of contemporary artists seeking escape through their work. The visual arts can be traced back in meaning to a relatively recent time during which nearly all expression was related to religion of some sort, which is another way of seeking solace from the confusion of every day life.
With this view in mind, I think the artist has two distinct roles. The first is self serving, an attempt to express something to one's self that other, more scientific media, cannot reach. The second is in diffusing the creativity of her or his work and exploration to others. The concept of responsibility here holds little importance, specifically because of the subjectivity that gives art it's importance.
One example of a media that can follow this conception is written fiction. Take a novel, for example.
There are character, and stories, and a great number of very deliberate choices by an author. These deliberate choices obviously still fulfill the second role (that of diffusion), but they do little for the first. It could be that the second reason suffices as a purpose for the first, or that there are other, more hidden truths from which the writer can benefit.
The thing that sets this form of artistic expression apart is it's incredible ability for directness. In no other mode of creative communication can the producer jump so extremely from an abstract discussion of a fictional world to a concise and concrete address regarding the world in which we live, or fail to live in.
I think of myself as an artist as I do any other producer of material. I write, I sing, I play music, and I communicate, each another valuable form of expression that most of us partake in. In doing so we contribute to the ongoing dialogue, we reveal our lives to others for inspection or shield them from view. In any case, we make art.