![]() |
The farther you walk into the woods of creativity the clearer the path becomes Oil on canvas 2013 16 x 50 inches |
WHAT IS THE FUNCTION OF ART? Adapted from Art as Therapy by Alain de Botton and John Armstrong and Exploring Art: A Global, Thematic Approach by Margaret Lazzari and Dona Schlesier
From Art as Therapy, the authors write, “A tool is an
extension of the body that allows a wish to be carried out, and that is
required because of a drawback in our physical make-up.
A knife is a response to our need, yet inability, to cut.
A bottle is a response to our need, yet inability, to carry
water.
To discover the purpose of art, we must ask what kinds of
things we need to do with our minds and emotions but have trouble with?”
The material choices in artmaking are the same as the knife
and bottle: the need to do something is facilitated by the materials at your
command.
![]() |
Detail of The farther you walk... Oil on canvas 2013 |
I like thinking about the materials I use to communicate
what can’t be said through verbal or written language as analogous to our sticks,
clubs, and racquets used in lacrosse, baseball, tennis, etc. The instruments in
music also apply here, but as an athlete who played sports that used
sticks it’s the sports analogy I am going with for now – though in class I
address the instrument-experience of my students.
And this has led me to construct the analogy: Tools in
sports are to an athlete what materials in art are to an artist: each enables
you to do something that our faculties can’t do on their own
Where the club, the stick, or racquet you control can
optimize your performance, the control of materials enables you to say
something profoundly and with an economy that words alone can’t.
![]() |
Woods Oil on canvas 2013 9 x 12 inches |
FUNCTIONS OF ART from Exploring Art: A Global Thematic
Approach
·
Art glorifies the power of the state/rulers
·
Art celebrates war and conquest, and sometimes peace
·
Promotes cohesion within a social group
·
Records likenesses of an individual and their
environment
·
Art entertains
·
Art assists in rituals that promotes our spiritual or
physical well-being
·
Art reflects customs related to food, shelter, and
human reproduction
·
Art communicates thoughts, ideas, emotions
·
Creates pictures of deities or what one may be
·
Serves to commemorate the dead
What do you see are the functions of your art? Does it
differ for you from your audience?