The Art of Art

Telling, performing, or shown, it can be a masterpiece

In one of my classes here at college, one of our assignments is to create and perform a simple dialogue in groups of four or five every Friday. I have done a lot theater and film-making and music before, so performing is nothing new to me. Today we finished our last presentation of the semester, and it was extremely clear that every person within every group had improved dramatically (pun intended) in their performing ability. The material we were presenting was very similar, but everyone’s ability to engage with the audience and present their material in a fun, interesting way has risen exponentially, including mine.

With this in mind, it struck me how curiously unique performance and conveyance of an idea, particularly through art, is. Where else in nature or in any facet of life can you find something that, in terms of strict survival, doesn’t contribute in any way to the “enhancement” of our species, and yet is so enjoyable and, I would argue, still necessary for life to be worth living? It’s fascinating! We place such an importance on storytelling, portrayal of a character, an idea, a place, a time or period of time, an emotion, a sound, harmony, on and on and on (and on and on)…. Through these, it is easy to feel something. When the performer or artist really connects with you in a way that everything else just can’t quite do.

Art is unique, and I believe that what puts the artistic within art is the unique. The individual. The shared individualism we have as a species.

I’ve heard people say that fine art, particularly in reference to music, can transcend all barriers, be understood by all cultures, and inspire all of humanity. I used to think that that was a little much to say for a few sound waves that happen to line up in a cool way, but now I believe it’s something more.

Art can transform us and our societies, if we let it. So why we?

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