The last time you were painting a portrait, or playing the guitar, or even writing flash fiction, did you ever stop to think, ‘How exactly do I benefit from this?’ If you did ponder over this question, then you may have come to the conclusion that art has the ability to invoke within us emotions that words alone could never call forth by pleasing the human senses to communicate straight to the soul. Experiencing these emotions and indulging ourselves in art can help us reflect upon ourselves and think about things otherwise unconsciously neglected. Art in every form incites growth on a personal level which cannot be attained through any other medium. The specific effects of various forms of art are a plethora, but they are ubiquitous in the way they help us understand the world we live in and the people around us in a better way. This holds true regardless of whether one admires art without making art or delves deeper and contributes to something that may, in due course of time, influence others. Not only is art something that is held close to the hearts of many, but it’s also something that heals wounds that would otherwise keep bleeding. With each passing year, one scientific study or another unearths new facts about art and its effects on the psyche help people cross boundaries and see the world in new dimensions previously unknown.
Art helps you see the truth in a way you cannot run away from. It often resonates with your subconscious feelings. Sometimes this means it will pull the strings of your heart to the brink of snapping, other times you may find yourself feeling warm and comforted. We human beings, being as curious as we are, wonder why art affects us so. We wish to discern the enigma within us, and in this quest for knowledge, we begin to notice things so obvious, we wonder how thick the mist in our minds was. Appreciating art can help you move past the grief of the loss of a beloved, or the longing for the voice of someone you will never cross paths with again. When we wonder why we started something, we often fall back on art to remember.
Art knows no borders and is an ever-growing, changing field. It has a life of its own and has been a constant guide and companion for humanity for time immemorial. Portraits of celestial beauty were often made to honour the gods, and still are, because they have divinity and richness about themselves that deserves to be compared with the people’s image of perfection. This goes to show that humanity acknowledges the ability of art to bring about change for the better. On admiring a work of art that strongly reflects your feelings, be it a song or a painting, you feel a stronger sense of who you really are and how you want to add your own notes to the never-ending song of the universe. To add to the list of things simply admiring art can help you with, it can make you a more empathetic person. This is because a piece of art can resonate with you to the extent that you even identify someone or something in it. These masterpieces often convey their message with exquisite detail, creating a bond between the viewer and the person or thing that moves them. A bond is thus formed between the viewer and the artist, promoting empathy between both parties. We often do not know why we feel such strong emotions, but we feel them nevertheless.
With the passage of time and increased exposure to new artwork, we feel much more comfortable seeing our surroundings from someone else’s perspective. This transforms the people around us from background characters or ‘extras’ to people with their own dreams, aspirations and thoughts, which may often be similar to our own. Once people have a history in your mind, they can no longer be ignored. What started with observing art will end with you becoming someone who wants to reach out and help fellow humans. This is exactly how art, in all its glory, makes you a kinder, more empathetic person.
In his article ‘How Art Changes Consciousness’, Job Devaney (musician, producer, creative artist, founder and director of Culture Collective) wrote, “ When you observe a profound piece of art you are potentially firing the same neurons as the artist did when they created it thus making new neural pathways and stimulating a state of inspiration. This sense of being drawn into a painting is called “embodied cognition”. This gives us an idea of how art inspires people. As an effect of this inspiration, we tend to push past our limits, set higher standards, and through it all, play our part in making the world a better place.
The learning and admiration of art have been encouraged in schools for decades, and there is a benefit in doing so. According to Bob Bryant, Executive Director of Fine Arts at Katy, ISD [Katy, Independent School District (www.katyisd.org), in Houston, Texas], “Education in the arts is an integral part of the development of each human being. Education and engagement in the arts are an essential part of the school curriculum and an important component in the educational program of every student in Katy ISD.”
Paintings and drawings are one of the few things that are renowned for their power of healing and communication. Manhattan Arts International is an organization based in New York which hosts an annual exhibition known as ‘The Healing Power of Art’. Several of the artists who took part in the exhibition shared the story of how art gave them a new life, “I believe art saved my life, pulled me out of a coma…” and “Within the last ten years painting has been a continuous remedy for the depression and pain…”. This can help open our eyes to how arts can help a person rise up from the depths of despair and actually feel like doing something with their life, to give and create, and, all in all, become a better person.
Music is another art people often turn to in hard times. Professor in neuropsychology Erik Scherder had given a public lecture in Amsterdam discussing his latest research regarding the effects of listening and making music on the workings of the brain. He demonstrated how music affects the brain by playing the violin while conducting a brain scan on himself. He then explained,” Listening and especially making music increases the bridge between the prefrontal cortex and the area in the back of your brain, which results in heightened empathy.” Such activation of parts of the brain enables him to do things that other people of his age could not do due to age-related deterioration in mental capabilities.
A scientific study named “Reading Literary Fiction Improves Theory of Mind” conducted by David Comer Kidd and Emanuele Castano stated, “…after reading literary fiction, as opposed to popular fiction or serious nonfiction, people performed better on tests measuring empathy, social perception and emotional intelligence — skills that come in especially handy when you are trying to read someone’s body language or gauge what they might be thinking.” Having good social perception will help you benefit society better, and gives you better insight on how to be a better person, one that helps not just himself, but also others. Another aspect of admiring and practicing arts is that it makes you a more tolerant person. The world of arts is not bound by earthly laws, and there will always be a variety of opinions on the same topic. It is inevitable that lovers of the arts would have to face opinions different from their own, but the arts put forward such opinions in a striking and effective way, such that we open up our minds and accept that there are people with opinions different from our own, and that we may not be right all the time. Painting one’s next masterpiece or pondering over new lyrics may often broaden their perspective to allow them to come up with ingenious solutions for sophisticated problems.
Practicing arts is a way to not only unleash our creativity but also boosts it. It helps us understand how life is the aggregate of all our choices and efforts, and that nothing we do is a waste. Art throws light onto the path upon which we wander and guides us to the road of confidence, and keeps self-doubt as well as fear at arm’s length. Being an artist may not always be easy, and sometimes we may have to make certain sacrifices to attain our goals. We choose to make these sacrifices not for others, but rather for ourselves. Sometimes, we wonder why we keep failing after so many attempts, but it is from these failures that we learn that while excitement and passion are what makes you begin a new journey, it is patience and perseverance that makes a quest successful. Patience and perseverance are two more of the many things art cultivates in us which make us a better person. When we indulge in the things we love, our mind is not cluttered with random thoughts, but rather we focus on making the most of our time and making every second more fulfilling.
Creating art can bring about a realization of the significance of every decision we make. Once you make a stroke with your brush that is out of place or you sing the wrong notes in front of people, it cannot be undone. By thinking about what colour would best suit our portrait, or how we should word the next chapter of our novel, we are actually learning to analyze the effects of our actions. In order to not make a mess of something we put our blood, sweat and tears into, we make a judgement after deeply evaluating the effects of our decisions. This helps us to not make impulsive and illogical decisions in life. To add on to the list of things experiencing art cultivates in us, it makes us better at problem-solving. Masterpieces are not magically created by swishing a wand, but rather they are the outcome of an artist’s cumulative failures and a change in attitude to problem-solving. Sometimes, we need to change our attitude towards a problem in order to figure out how to solve it. Not knowing how to introduce a new character in a drama may result in one changing their attitude towards art in such a way that they become better artists.
Art is more than just a three-letter word, it is how many people cope with the world and express themselves. It is an ever-changing, never-ending result of the thoughts and aspirations of humanity. It is intertwined with your past and will play an integral role in the making of the future. The difference between one who indulges in art and one who does not may fail to be contained in a page. Art grows with us and we grow with it. It is just like a person in our life, the only difference is that our art will never abandon us while people might. Just like a good person can have a powerful impact on your life that changes you for the better, it can make you a better person than most people ever could. By noticing how every tiny stroke and each letter make a difference in the end result, we become better observers. By heeding its subtle and more obvious advice, we are learning to accept the truth that we are not perfect, and that it is perfectly healthy to look for guidance, we become more modest people. If something as fluid as art, that can change its approach to one that is better suited to you, and can stay by your side for as long as you want, cannot make you a better person, then other activity will?
References
- Reading Literary Fiction Improves Theory of Mind by David Comer Kidd, Emanuele Castano
- 10 Real-World Ways Art Class Can Impact Your Life by Debi West
- Science Says Art Will Make Your Kids Better Thinkers (and Nicer People) by Jennifer Miller
- How Dancing Can Make You a Better Person
- Art Enhances Brain Function and Well-Being by Renee Phillips
- Does Art Have The Power to Save Lives? by Renee Phillips
- For Better Social Skills, Scientists Recommend a Little Chekhov by Pam Belluck
- The Educational Value of Field Trips by Jay P. Greene, Brian Kisida and Daniel H. Bowen
Thank You
A special thanks to one of my friends who helped me proofread this and my teacher who gave me guidance (for the record, this was written for the John Locke Essay competition in 2020, and I wanted to share it even though it did not get shortlisted). Your feedback would be appreciated, my dear readers. All images used are from Unsplash. Thank you for your patience. I hope my essay made you think, and gave you some useful insight. Till I post again, signing out,
Ananth Ram.
