The Purpose of Art

So this is an essay that I wrote, I've been told that I should post it here (sorry english class people, you'll just have to read it again or ignore this post [i would adivse the second option :) ] So here it is:

The Purpose of Art

When I was younger, my grandparents regularly took my sister and I to fine art museums. Unlike many children who thought of these museums as the epitome of boredom, I found them to be fascinating. I would stand for hours gazing at the gorgeous paintings and admiring their beauty. At times, I would stand in front of a single painting for so long that everyone else would get board and eventually tear me away so we could continue our visit. It was during one of these visits that I first came to realize the ability of art to grapple with difficult questions. While I was walking through a Vincent Van Gogh exhibit I asked my grandmother why all of his paintings seemed so sad. She explained that Van Gogh had been a sad, depressed man and that he tried to work through his feelings in his art. Looking at his paintings, I began to wonder what it must feel like to always be so sad. The thought frightened me, and yet I could not stop thinking about this man’s sad life.

In Dorothy Allison’s essay “This is Our World” she puts into words exactly what I was feeling at that moment, “Art should provoke more questions than answers and, most of all, should make us think about what we rarely want to think about at all."(1) Art has an undeniable ability to create questions in a person’s mind and leave a lasting impression long after their initial encounter with the art. Artist’s like Vincent Van Gogh and Pablo Picasso are particularly know for the probing nature of their works. However, art also has an intrinsic ability to answer questions and to be used as a powerful teaching tool. The ornate icons of the church and the hieroglyphic art of Ancient Egypt served this purpose. They were meant to answer questions about religion and life. In light of these two uses of art, I would agree with Allison, but with a qualification. Art can raise questions and cause us to think about things we would otherwise not see only when it is the artist’s intention. The true purpose of art can only be found by exploring the individual artist’s reason for creating his artwork.

To thoroughly explore Allison’s statement and the purpose of art in this essay, I shall limit my discussion to include only visual art and discuss paintings, sculpture, and photographs. While there are many different types of art ranging from murals to motion pictures, I cannot adequately examine them all within the scope of this essay.

When Allison says that art “should make us think about what we rarely want to think about at all”(2) I believe that she is referring to problems, both individual and social, that abound in this world. These problems are many times hidden from our view, and when we finally uncover them, they are often difficult for us to see. However, a problem never resolves itself by being left alone. Other times the problems lie within society. There are times when the traditional way of seeing things can become harmful. Artists are then able to come in and ask questions about the prevalent views of the society.

During the Renaissance, artists started to question traditional methods of artwork as well as traditional ideology found in the Roman Catholic Church.(3) While giving figures and landscapes depth by using the artistic technique of perspective they simultaneously began to question the long held beliefs about man’s depth of relationship with God. The great artist Michelangelo, who lived during the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, dramatically illustrates this shift with his frescos on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. In his fresco The Creation of Adam, Michelangelo paints Adam lying on the ground with his hand outstretched to God, who is reaching back towards Adam from the sky. By showing the creation of Adam as a personal encounter with God, Michelangelo began to question the Catholic teaching that said it was necessary to have a saint mediate between a person on Earth and God. Though not a radical thought today, during that time, the belief that God could be accessed without the aid of a saint was revolutionary. Artwork like Michelangelo’s began to raise questions about established ideas about God.

In addition to raising questions about religion, art can also cause people to look inward and ask questions about themselves. The art of Van Gogh provides a vivid example of art that raises questions about one’s self. Throughout his life Van Gogh struggled with feelings of depression and loneliness. Of his paintings that deal with these issues Fishing Boats on the Beach at Saintes-Maries speaks most strongly to me. In this painting Van Gogh paints eight boats in four pairs symbolizing friendship. One of these boats is named Amite, which means “friendship” in French. To further emphasize the friendship two pairs are on the beach and two are at sea. Even the two seagulls fly in a pair. Then, off in the distance, there is a single red boat. Using the color red to represent himself, as he often did, Van Gogh shows how he was feeling removed and far from the world of friendship. Van Gogh gives another indication of how lonely he felt by painting two yellow boxes far from each other on the beach. By signing one of the boxes, he identifies with that idea of being distanced from others like him.(4) Looking at this painting, one cannot help but think about this man’s life and then while thinking about his loneliness, come to see her own. Often, these feelings are things we would prefer not to think about. In fact, that person might never have realized that part of herself had it not been for the questions raised by the painting.

Not only can art raise questions about individual emotions, but it can also ask questions about difficult circumstances and their impact on us. The Italian artist Umberto Boccioni created a group of paintings in 1911 called States of Mind. These paintings seek to ask questions about what happens when we leave and what happens to those left behind. In his first painting, The Farewells, Boccioni sets a scene at a train station. Dark, swirling colors and faces swept away in smoke create a sense of confusion and chaos that relates to the process of saying goodbye. Those Who Go, his second painting, contains faces that are being tugged across the midnight, blue canvas by thin, oblique lines symbolizing the anguish and confusion they feel as they leave. In his final painting, Those Who Stay, thick, vertical lines pull the faces to the bottom of the canvas showing the sadness and heaviness they feel from being left behind.(5) These three paintings bring up poignant questions about the mental and emotional process of leaving and staying behind. The feelings of confusion and heaviness are emotions that we all are able to relate to since everyone has had to say farewell in some way. These works of art cause us to look inside ourselves and see what impact those difficult situations had on our lives.

Difficult situations can be social as well as individual. Art allows an artist to expose social problems by bringing them to the attention of a larger audience and then raise questions about the situation. The photographer David Goldblatt uses his photographs of the buildings and structures of apartheid South Africa to represent the mental and ideological structures in the nation. In one of his photographs he features a beautiful stairway outside a wealthy vintner’s house. A large white scroll runs along the textured wall, flaunting the owner’s wealth and lofty social status. In another photograph, the opposite extreme is found. A poor woman and her young child lay outside in a worn bed surrounded by their meager belongings. With nothing but sparse brushwood and bushes in the background, the picture creates a sense of poverty and despair. In the caption, Goldblatt explains that the government had literally taken the roof from over their heads. Their small shelter made of brushwood and discarded plastic had been lifted off the ground and destroyed just moments before.(6) Seeing the extreme affluence and poverty side-by-side brings into stark realization the extreme injustice in that part of the world. Things like injustice and poverty, things that are hidden, uncomfortable, and even at times ugly, are often best communicated though art. As we are exposed to these things, we begin to ask questions about how these people feel, why they live the way they must, and what we can do about it.

Art can be a stirring medium through which artists can ask questions and bring to realization the problems of our world. However, in addition to asking questions about life, art is also able to answer those same questions. This property of art was especially utilized during the Medieval Era. In the Middle Ages, Latin was the language of the Church and of the Bible. Unfortunately, only the educated upper class and religious leaders were able to understand and read Latin. The rest of the people only understood the local dialects of their countries and most could not read at all. In response to this problem raised by the illiteracy of the people, he Church turned to art.(7) By creating artwork that depicted the lives of biblical figures and events, they were able to teach the people about their Christian faith. Inside the Roman Catholic Church in Velemér, Hungary there is a fresco that shows the death of Christ.(8) He is shown hanging from the cross with His hands and feet nailed to the wooden beams. His eyes are closed in death. His body hangs thin and emaciated. Blood flows from a wound in His side made by the spear. Two women weep at His side. This picture powerfully displays the way that Christ died for the sins of humanity. Anyone looking at this painting could understand what was happening. Using this visual illustration, a priest could then explain the Gospel message and help lead someone to a saving knowledge in Jesus Christ. It was works of art such as this that helped the Church to educate the common people about the stories of the Bible.

Biblical stories are not the only stories that have been communicated with artwork. The Ancient Egyptians used their art to tell stories about their gods and to record their history. The paintings and sculpture of the Egyptians usually showed the strength of their gods and pharaohs or told stories about them. Surrounded by hieroglyphics, these pieces of art provided a visual history of the Egyptian way of life. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has in its collection a sphinx with the head of the pharaoh Senwosret III. At just over a foot high, the lion’s body is in a crouching position showing it as a protector of a sacred place. The linen headdress covering the pharaoh’s head symbolizes his position as king. On top of the headdress sits the likeness of a cobra, representing Udjo, the goddess who provided protection for the kings.(9) This sphinx records for all of history the strength and the reign of the pharaoh whose head it bears. It was through sculptures like this and other artistic marvels, such as the intricate reliefs in their temples, that the Egyptians recorded their glorious history for all to see.

I believe that Allison captured an essential aspect of art when she explained its probing nature. If fact, much of modern art is concerned with asking questions of society.(10) David Goldbatt asks many penetrating questions about South Africa though his photography. Additionally, Van Gogh and Boccioni depict the difficulties of human life and ask questions about our emotions and the effect of situations on our lives. However, the art that serves to answer questions obviously cannot be excluded from the realm of visual art. The frescos of the Roman Catholic Church and the sculpture of Ancient Egypt are only a few examples of the many types of art that was created to answer questions and to teach. Since both types of art are seen as fine art, then both purposes of art are equally valid. The most important aspect to be aware of when evaluating a piece of art, is to know the artist’s reason for creating it before we can determine it’s purpose. With that in mind, we can truly appreciate the art as the artist intended us to.

Endnotes

(1) Atwan, Robert and Donald McQuade. The Writer’s Presence: A Pool of Readings, Fourth Edition. New York: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2003. pg. 594

(2) Atwan, Robert and Donald McQuade. pg. 594

(3) Anthony, Linda. 40 minute telephone interview with Master Art teacher. 16 December 2006.\

(4) Art lecture at Art Museum in Los Angeles. 1994.

(5) Museum of Modern Art. “States of Mind Gallery Text,” Museum of Modern Art, http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?riteria=O%3ADE%3AI%A5&page_number=61&template_id=1&sort_order=1 (accessed Dec. 13, 2006).

(6) Kismarc, Susan. “Introduction to David Goldblatt: Photographs from South Africa” Museum of Modern Art, Moma.org/exhibitions/1998/goldblatt/index.html (accessed Dec. 13, 2006).

(7) Anthony, Linda.

(8) Fine Arts in Hungary. “Crucifix,” Fine Arts in Hungary, http://www.hung-art.hu/index- en.html (accessed Dec. 16, 2006).

(9) Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Description of Sphinx of Senwosret III,” Metropolitan Museum of Art, http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_art/viewOne.asp?dep= 10&viewmode=0&item=17.9.2 (accessed Dec. 16, 2006).

(10)Anthony, Linda.


Bibliography

Atwan, Robert and Donald McQuade. The Writer’s
Presence: A Pool of Readings, Fourth Edition. New
York: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2003.

Fine Arts in Hungary. “Crucifix,” Fine Arts in
Hungary, http://www.hung-art.hu/index-en.html
(accessed Dec. 16, 2006).

Kismarc, Susan. “Introduction to David Goldblatt:
Photographs from South Africa” Museum of Modern
Art,
Moma.org/exhibitions/1998/goldblatt/index.html
(accessed Dec. 13, 2006).

Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Description of Sphinx of
Senwosret III,” Metropolitan Museum of Art,
http://www.metmuseum.org/Works_of_art/viewOne.asp?
dep=10&viewmode=0&item=17.9.2 (accessed Dec. 16,
2006).

Museum of Modern Art. “States of Mind Gallery Text,”
Museum of Modern Art,
http://www.moma.org/collection/browse_results.php?
criteria=O%3ADE%3AI%
3A5&page_number=61&template_id=1&sort_order=1
(accessed Dec. 13, 2006).

Interviews and Lectures

Anthony, Linda. 40 minute telephone interview with
Master Art teacher. 16 December 2006.
Art lecture at Art Museum in Los Angeles. 1994.