Why Art?- Mikaela Gatewood

Art has been a part of human nature ever since the beginning of human life itself. From the early cave paintings of the Paleolithic era, all the way up to the contemporary performance art of the 21st century, art has been a consistent and everlasting source of expression. This could be an expression of emotion, events, opinions, colors, lines, etc. This expression not only documents human thought and progression, but has provided an emotional outlets for thousands and thousands of years.
That being said, the role and responsibility of an artist, first and foremost, is to create. Whether that be creating words, designs, movement, music, what have you, an artist creates art. While the general goal of artists may be to challenge ideas or evoke emotion, whether or not those objectives are actually achieved is entirely up to the viewer. Ultimately, in my opinion, the artist has no responsibility to any one but themselves. They can't control the responses a viewer might have to their work. They're not required to make viewers feel angry, sad, or happy. Their job is to create, and if they're lucky, their creation will have a strong impact on others.
Language arts is interesting in that it's one of the only art form that directly communicates with the viewer. The majority of other art forms such as instrumental music, drawing, or dance, don't use words. Instead, they use visuals or sound to convey their message. Language arts, however, uses words to create images and express emotion. Ultimately, language arts is made entirely out of words and nothing else, a trait that most art forms can't claim.
I'd like to think that I'm an artist. Art has been a fairly large part of my life ever since I was little. My grandma put a paintbrush in my hands as soon as I could hold one. I've taken art as an elective all throughout grade school. And one day I hope to be an architect, which is an art form in itself. I create and express my emotions through visual material, at least as best as I can. But ultimately, I think that anyone can be an artist. To be an artist is to create and express emotions, two features that are arguably considered a natural part of human life. However marginal or insignificant these creations may be, humans would not be humans if they did not create art.