Art: A waste of time or meaningful expression?

Did you get dressed by yourself today? If you did, you were participating in artistic decision making. The act of selecting and deciding on various articles of clothing for the purpose of covering yourself is in effect, making an artistic decision. Didn’t care about the choice? Still a decision that is reflected by what you are wearing. You are expressing yourself with the manner in which you dress.

Art is a waste of time when we try to discount what art is. We are bombarded by imagery constantly. Perpetual motion fanatics even argue that while we sleep our brain is generating images along with billions of other subconscious thoughts. Art is everywhere in our lives. Art is anything that elevates or changes our levels of consciousness when experiencing it.

Fine art in the visual sense is what this article is pertaining to. Art can be many things but taking a drug to experience the elevations, experiencing nature or other experiences of the like have a different definition. Art in the finest sense is a wonder to create and to experience. Good art is always a memorable experience with meaningful layers of intellectual challenge and reward. The notion that art could be a waste of time is interesting, especially in the arena of professional artists.

Art and commerce never mix. They often attempt and rarely capture anything of lasting value. Art for the professional who is creating for the rewards of money and fame is a waste of time in most instances because eventually the experience for everyone involved becomes terrible. The experience of this type of art is usually one where the audience would have been better off without the experience. When art dances with commerce, it often is a waste of time.

Meaningful expressions of art will always exist. Human nature makes us want certain images and experiences. Everything we see influences us and our responses based on but not limited to; color, shape, size, content, texture, contour and a myriad of visual elements. Meaningful expressions are another part of art that go beyond motivation and intent. Leonardo da Vinci, once proclaimed that a sponge saturated in paint and lobbed against a wall, left an image that was equally or more interesting than the majority of his own paintings. This could be the first invention of abstract art but the point is that accidents in art happen and often are meaningful expressions as well. Any art then becomes meaningful and the more educated we become in art, the more we see it is not a waste of time.