The Effect of the Definition of Art - Case Study Example

Does art enhance our lives or distract from it? Introduction The twin brothers Moon and Ba ed the legendary ‘daytripper’ novel in which they posed the question as to what the purpose of art is in human beings; whether it enhances or distracts it? This question runs the depth of all human thought especially for the simplistic definition of art that we all identify with that it is ‘everything that surrounds us’. Nevertheless, the most controversial reality that one must appreciate is the subjectivity in defining art and interpreting it. Defining art is very subjective and every human being would have a very distinctive feature and reason while defining art and hence the same subjectivity would apply while answering the lead question posed in this paper. This paper however focuses on the effect of the definition of art as being both graphical and textual given by Moon and Ba in Daytripper besides getting supportive evidence from other sources. Art can carry many forms such as ‘all that surrounds us’ in form of paintings, drawings, patterns as well as performed and acted processes; all of which may be observed and or perceived. Whereas it is appreciated that ‘art’ is not new to humans and has been evidently seen in one form or another throughout human existence, the question of its essence in human living always remains a question to think about. Discussion Art has been embraced in many human societies by individuals or corporately for various purposes basic of which has been positive like a tool of communication. General life is often characterized of ‘good’ times and ‘bad’ times and the very essence of art has been in enhancing the quality of living such as through enabling people to overcome bad realities like pain and stress. Different writers and artists have shown the necessity of art in humans over the different forms in which they represent art and how people have been using the arts. For instance, Moon and Ba embraced the combination of both text and graphics as a form of art while showing what the most important days of life are for all humans. In a rather comical novel ‘Daytripper’ they use the form of art to depict the life of Bras (the main actor) from one stage of living to another (Weldon, para 1-9). Basic in the writing of the novel is how the writer employs artistic tools in graphics and text as would keep the reader interested to study the forthcoming chapter(s); one after the other. The story line is about Bras whose most important days in life are highlighted. The novel highlights the character’s very first kiss, how he met his initial love, how his son was born, his life tragedies and the ultimate end to his life. These were therefore depicted as the main important days that Bras life comprised of. Daytripper therefore embraces art’s uniqueness in how it presents a collection of life snapshots through ten chapters which alludes to the reader on the meaning of life and how humans are mortal. Bras is depicted as a writer and a dreamer who strives to get to a definition of his life as he struggles through curses as well as passions passed over by his father. Critical features in the novel is that all chapters are different in the fact that they present very different days and or weeks through his life but all end while alluding to his death. The greatest lesson that he has to learn is on how to shun love fear, accomplishment fear, and failure fear through embracing art. As a stylistic devise, the author connects the preceding chapters with each other and intentionally arranges them in a way that without the final chapters, then each story by graphics and texts would not have the actual meaning it was meant for. This therefore illustrates the effective use of text as an art to communicate to a particular audience as well as to entertain. The book is presented in a hilarious mode and as such, any reader studying the book would make good effect of humor and this signifies the essence of the written art in the novel. Both graphics alluded to and the text used in the writing complement each other in realizing this overall effect of improving the living of the target reader through humor and stress relief. In Asia, precisely in Japan, theatre works in the form of acted drama, poems, songs and such acted works of art dates back as early as in the 9th century. The significance of these forms of art differed on occasion and season but most often, the drama was meant for entertainment. The drama theatres however gained much popularity within the fifteenth and sixteen centuries and was characterized of dancing and background instrumental rhythm and this was meant for entertainment. Entertainment in itself is used to symbolize a form of improvement in the quality of life and hence emphasize on the purpose of an art to enhance human life. Various masks were designed and used for dramas in Japan and they differed in the emotions they were meant to symbolize. For instance, the Noh plays got popularity within Japan as they were purposely meant for entertaining upper class people (Bannatyne, para 1-7). Drama scenes and dances were and are designed with particular messages which are basically comic and hilarious and hence the effect of entertaining the audience in target. Through these scenes therefore, individuals would be put out of reality, at least for a while, and as such avoid the pains that they would be experiencing in reality. In other dimensions, artwork would have acted as tools for inspiration as human beings are known to be highly spiritual. Drama and such acted works of art have been used to seal the gap between the human mortality and the immortal of the supreme deities not only in Japan but in many human societies across the globe. This is among the realities that even Ba and Moon have effectively depicted through the novel Daytripper where human beings are shown to be very mortal and this explains the ultimate place of all people in death. Arts have been associated with the role of improving human living through various ways as are associated with development, intellectual functionality, physical, social, spiritual as well as psychological functioning and improving aesthetic value of life. The purpose of arts in improving human development has been shown through entertainment which would therefore overcome challenges in human development as would be associated with living under stress. The educational aspect of arts would be established through themes that the arts represent and this have been used over years to explain the essence of arts as being educative. Besides the educative purpose of arts further touches on human intellect as a basic virtue that is fundamental to human survival. Human societies has always held intellectual competence with high regard and among other tools that have been used in conveying this importance has been through such arts as acted arts and textual or graphical arts. Different forms of arts have also been in use over time to improve aesthetic value as shown through paintings and graffiti that are used as wall hangings or are painted on surfaces as people would view. We must also appreciate that advancement in technology and change in times have enabled such acted arts to be aired through televisions and cinemas and this has been most useful in enhancing the essence of human life. Social cohesion as well as stratification especially in line of power and affluence would also be communicated through arts. For example, as shown by the Japanese drama, theatres were meant for the elite class and for those that were high social class (Inoki, para 1-12). Nevertheless, this would not change the main purpose for which this form of art was used; in entertainment. Physical development has also been one key area that arts have been used to enhance. This is because, such an art as the Japanese Noh would include forms of dancing which is more of physical activity that such other form of arts as graphics (Spates, para 1-9). Emotional appeal by various forms of art such as depicted by the Bras death and rising in daytripper and in episodes of drama has a psychological significance towards the target audiences. Spiritual development of human beings is also depicted through pieces of arts that allude to supernatural deities which human beings have been and continues to revere. Arts have therefore been adopted as an effective tool for use in idealizing human experiences and therefore transcend the reality of life. In reviewing the way in which Ba and Moon have used textual and graphical tools of art to compile together the ten-episode novel on Bras life development stage by stage, Bras is seen to be always writing obituaries and this would illustrate physical change. Accordingly, the writers start with a very strong sentiment that comics world has always had two main classes which are the class of fantasies and the class of realism. It is from this position that Ba and Moon advance their ideology in the form of a textual and graphical novel which spans the depths of the two; reality and fantasy. However, communicating the most honest reality in human morality is the main feature of the art by the two. Time is very well illustrated as the writers show developmental sequence of various characters that Bras wrote about in the obituaries. For example, one character named ‘Tata’ was a footballer who after playing for thirty years for his team, he retired at age sixty six. Bras also wrote about Rodrigo, who served Brazil as an ambassador in many countries for forty years. One unique strategy that the writers use is death which is over emphasized through frequent deaths of the main character. This is however stylistic to Ba and Moon’s piece of art as after every chapter, the novel shows the death of Bras who only comes back to life in the succeeding one. In a graphics, Bras is shown to appreciate the continuous death of people even without his writing and this has no special regard for him; he too dies. The use of texts while writing people’s obituaries therefore represents a unique way in which art can be used to enhance human living through communication. Humor has always been embraced by human beings as it has the particular light touch in life thereby enabling human beings overcome the often stressful moments. For instance, after every of Bras deaths in daytripper, then the novel presents a possible obituary that Bras would write of himself and this would appear humorous as against sounding as serious as one would perceive death to be. Images drawn in the novel to compliment textual storyline enhance the way the writer communicates with the intended audience and this has enabled the novel to be appreciated Conclusion This essay finds that arts have been used over years in human societies for various purposes. The main ways through which the use of arts has benefited human beings is through enhancing the quality of living through entertainment, teaching, inspiring and correcting (Colford, 17). Arts have been used in daytripper novel to show the mortality of human beings and therefore remind people that death is a certainty. Arts make live interesting and worth living through instilling hope, and helping us appreciate supreme deities. The japans art especially the acted arts like drama have been esteemed over generations in entertaining people. The Noh type of drama was initially meant for entertaining the elite within the Japanese society. Through entertaining, the arts help human beings navigate the reality of life and therefore overcome unpleasant life experiences even if for a while. Arts have also been associated with the role of improving human living through various ways as are associated with development, intellectual functionality, physical, social, spiritual as well as psychological functioning and improving aesthetic value of life. The daytripper novel by Ba and Moon is therefore well structured in understanding the purposes of arts in human life. Works Cited Bannatyne, Lesley. "For these Actors, the Answer is Noh." The Christian Science Monitor: 18. May 03 2005. ProQuest. Web. 8 July 2014 . Colford, Michael. "School Arts: Inspiring Creativity in Teaching." Library Journal 126.17 (2001): 117. ProQuest. Web. 8 July 2014. Inoki, Linda. "Japans History of Art: Function to Pleasure: Exhibitions:" Financial Times: 12. Oct 10 2003. ProQuest.Web. 8 July 2014 . Spates, Alicia. "Exhibit Offers Glimpse of Japans Artistry." McClatchy - Tribune Business News: 1. Jun 06 2007. ProQuest.Web. 8 July 2014 . Weldon, Glen. “Daytripper Explores The Quiet Moments That Shape A Mans Life. And His Death(s)”. 2011. Web. 7 July 2014. Read More