The Message of Art Matters - Essay Example

The Message of Art Matters Art is defined as a form of expression. One artwork is worth a thousand words. It induces extrapolation of ideas in the minds of those who perceive it. There are various elements composed in the single artwork with history attached to how it was conceived. An artwork is beyond its aesthetic value. The content and the message is of essential factor that makes every artwork unique and transcendental. Art is an expression of ones soul. It can be expressed in various ways and perceived quite differently as well. Various forms of art are seen hanging on the walls of museum, in the many ceilings of old churches, in the array of notes in a musical composition, in the curves of a statue, in the intricate and calculated lines of the architectural work, in the historical fast sketches in cave walls, or even on a black and white doodle in the lowliest paper canvass. Art is the giving of artists of what is inside of him, what he perceives, feel, believe, wish and more. Overall, it defines what the content of art is all about. It is the message or the feeling that is imparted by the work of art. Content is intricately linked with the form of art referring to the pictorial aspects such as the colors, contrast, shapes, design, framing, edges, and other decisions that the artist may apply (“Elements”). The beauty of art is found everywhere. It is up to an individual how he perceives and appreciates it. While it is true that aesthetic beauty lies in the eyes of a beholder, visual representation brings the collaboration of art formed in many approaches: music,painting, stories, imagination and even science. The subject of an artwork is primarily and obviously taken notice. The artist has the liberty to choose the subject matter for his artwork. However, it is the content that will always reflect the artist (Nielsen). There are thousands of artists that paint the same subject. It is the artist’s own style that makes their works diverse and non-ephemeral. Every man is an artist. Every individual has a way to voice out what is going on inside of him and loose it out in ways that would make an impact to whoever perceives. Art as an expression reflects what is happening in a certain society and culture. If art is a work output, then it must come from inside of the artist. The freedom of every individual lets him explore the vastness of his creativity exploding into varied concepts of supreme work of art and achievements. A true artist paints his soul. Every brushstroke, the choice of the medium, the color combination, the subject, the light intensity and the tone, all contributes to the message that the artists want to convey. A work devoid of direction and meaning is junk. Art is constituted with soul and heart that enables it to breathe and speak to the viewers with words that only the souls and heart can fathom. Historically, art has evolved through time and culture. Since the evolution of human history, art is already present. Early artworks were seen on the caves and rocks. They were aesthetically basic, devoid of colors, no definite forms and lacking in medium. Regardless of their simplicity, they are renowned important due to the message and content that they carry. What they have done is considered supreme and historically significant. Their art is their way of expression of what they perceive in their nature. Due to their simple cave wall caricatures and sketches, man’s civilization was traced. The message of an artwork reveals the environment at certain point in the history. There is a dynamic relationship of the artist with the environment, whether internal or external. With all his intellect, emotions, and religious beliefs, he freely cast out what he infers from his system. There are various factors that affect the artist’s works such as geographical, historical, religion, politics, and other day to day happenings can make artists resolved into expressions painted in canvasses to portray soundless words. This symbiotic human cycle produces a total artwork that is directed into shaping the world creating history and directing the course of the future. Every man has a way of perceiving things in the real world. While it is true that a painting brings direct contact with the visual model, there is still disparity in the presence of the subject in reality with that in the art work. A painting as a form of art is actually an affirmation of the existent, where mankind walks in his physical world. Every individual has the ability to appreciate nature and to view art with a perspective of seeing all that is beautiful in the world. With personal interpretation and added imagination, the actual skeletal form of an object can be perceived way beyond the form and elevate it further into an intellectual and spiritual level. It is amazing to ponder nature in this manner and it is invigorating to consider the various interpretation that the others have of any given piece of art whether in canvass or in music. Art results to an internal soundless conversation that further leads an unspeakable appreciation and understanding that cuts beyond the aesthetic value of art. Art, regardless of its cultural background, is a way of expression that is always existent collaborated with media and technique. It is sublimated into a more sacred stage with its coexistence with other arts intertwined with personal interpretation and individual imagination. Understanding art and its relationship with nature and the source by which it is created thrives on the idea of the existence of other fields that contributes to its existence at a certain point in history. An artwork is conceived for various reasons. Some artists devise their works for aesthetic purposes. Beauty is intertwined with art. Art can even be defined as an activity or output that includes creating and appreciating beauty. Man’s thriving for art is to obtain joy and elation as they create beauty in their hands. Artists, in their every way, desire to please and are pleased with what they have formed. Thus, majority of the reasons for the conception of art is for aesthetic purposes due to the beauty it radiates to its viewers. Hence, it message is for beauty. This is art for art’s sake. A painting paints a thousand words. It speaks audible words that penetrate the hearts of those on lookers scrutinizing them. It speaks louder than expected. They are frequently found on advertisements, billboards, magazines, internet, television, and other media. They are intended to convey an idea in the most brief, concise and effective way. A picture is worth more than a thousand words. It screeches diverse messages depending on how one views them. It squeals in the most simple and subtle manner where the echoes are carried by those who has seen them even for a long time. It is an effortless medium to convey a message. Art as a form of expressions has evolved in many forms. It has changed radically for the purpose it was birthed. There is a radical evolution of art gaining evolutionary-revolutionary power over humankind that has shaken the society. It has evolved from a series of classical dynasties throughout history. It also has continuously revolutionized radical movements especially in this modern time. Definition of art today greatly varies from how it is classified from old times. Art today is devoid of walls from the conventional aesthetic standards of output where expressions are devised in many various forms. Art is no longer defined with strict rules in terms of aesthetic value and medium used. Anyone has liberty to explore what is inside of them and express them in ways for arts sake. The cultural backgrounds influencing the inner system of the creators’ hands are expressed in the messages and media of their output. The freedom in every artist lets him explore the vastness of his creativity into varied concepts of supreme work using multitudes of possible media. This sense of freedom in the modern art has opened the gates for other kinds of materials to be used as medium in expressing art. Art has turned into a real dynamic symbiotic system where artist’s magnum opuses are more interactive. There are voices that are heard in their silent protests and there are images depicted in shadows. Messages of their works cants with piercing sonata echoed with the various reactions, critics, appreciations and applause from those who perceive. Art has indeed evolved from prehistoric dynasties where aesthetic value is the optimum criteria to judge a piece of work to an era where art works are expressed regardless of how they look in the human eye. There are even extreme works exposing radical movements created in skewed forms with messages hidden in graphics. Medium used has varied from oil based paints into lights and lasers. Canvasses containing them expounds from traditional easel-sized paints into walls, screens, and even a whole room. Who would have thought that art can consume such space? The vastness of possible resources to paint the many artists’ graffiti has sloped into infinity. Every now and then, a new thing happens. Every now and then, a new material coming from nature has been staged into stardom as they are exposed gradually. The axiom that art has been devised by modern people as the tool to voice out socio-political concerns is highly evident in the many various forms of arts now produced. Many of the artworks are embedded with messages intentionally crying for understanding with the public. Artists generally produce their artworks to speak what they want to be heard. Socio-political concerns are converted into colors painted in canvasses as they are intertwined with the various elements of art. Art has been created for the messages behind the images painted. There are subjects highlighted and interpreted in many ways to captivate the viewers. They are done in ways to make them appear simple yet lofty with message. Artists who want to sout heir message in unison organize themselves together as they chorus a common purpose. In fact, many art shows conceptualized with a certain theme has been made all over the world. Artists, their supporters and critics flock like vultures at these events creating both ingrates and malcontents alike. The immersion and integration of various works of arts revolving around a single theme or idea echo with a bang to the public. The message is sent out clear and loud. In fact, louder than expected since a lot of people react differently to them. Hence, it creates so much controversy that can not taken for granted. There is a raw exposure of the various artist feelings of marginalization and exclusion according to what they perceive from the present outside world. This creates a big fiesta of whining with loud utterances of hidden parody made for women, lesbians, gays, blacks, the poor and deprived. Today, art has been profoundly used as tool to be heard. Artist movements may be judged as radical to most people. Yet, somehow, their speaking gallery of pictures and loud colors in canvasses chorused with the shrieks from the lifeless forms laid out to form a masterpiece is something to behold. They speak of lasting impression that words can not define, nor can their meaning be caged to absolute formulas. These arts influence minds, evokes emotions, promotes ideas, and demonstrates power. For whether they are effective or not, they are judged in accordance to people’s reaction afterwards. The evolution of time when it comes to art has truly been dynamic and a fast paced one. Galleries of before are composed of canvasses lining up in the walls displayed in studios. Today, modern artists gather together in shows and museums composed of videos, photography, sculptures, paintings, graffiti and words on the walls. They even come up with catalogs that contain the included artists and the thematic slogan featured on the event. There are riffs and themes collaborated in these events to unleash the stifled messages that artists want to convey in unison to the public. To further express messages through art, artists even use materials such as gun spare parts, collage, photo shoot, or a canvass of massive blots with various hues, black and white pictures, enlarge image skewed to monumental proportions, photos from real life events, incorporation of various clippings and even art with captioned words to clearly define what the work is all about. As more sophisticated medium are being used, the sphere for the use of anything to express thoughts has indeed expanded. Technologies even produce these gadgets and machineries to make their expressions more explicit, genuine and unique. Art also has sophisticatedly accelerated towards modernization. That is a fact that must be accepted by conventional minds who stick to the classical view of defining beauty. Art can no longer be associated with specified set of rules engraved on stone. There must be freedom of expression in art. There must be liberty in using whatever medium to use to express thoughts and emotions. Nature is boundless in providing whatever can be used to convey what must be said. Messages in art are stronger than words. They cannot be caged with definite formulas. This liberty in modern art must be something that the world must accept and the society must adapt. The voice in every masterpiece can express inner cries forever. Let the voices be heard. Art basically is conceived with a purpose. While it is true that most artists strive to achieve aesthetic perfection, still, what is more essential is that they had conveyed the message successfully through their work. The ways for expression is vast. No matter how a work is perceived, only the artists know definitely the real intentions of their creations. There are works who are obvious while there are some connoted in abstracts, color intensities, foreshadowing and other techniques. The messages hidden in every artwork are mirrored in their works. Some has to perceive deeper to achieve understanding of those who require higher understanding. Modern art includes psychological explanations as symbolisms are already incorporated to many of the works. These are incorporated in unique ways that requires sophisticated explanation for the sake of ordinary viewers. They are grasped beyond the literal combinations of the elements of art. Art, no matter how simple they are conceived strives to achieve to have their message be heard. What matters in art is indeed the message that they claim to have. They are substantial echoing their heart and spirits. Art transcends culture and time. Their imprints are forever engraved in the history. Styles and techniques differ as time goes on. It is their message that lives forever. Their values are judged according to their interpretations. This is the reason why works of Michaelangelo, Donatello, Da Vinnci and the rest stays forever. Their universal theme about religion speaks to the viewers from the past until today. Messages of art such these major works can truly walk through space devoid of time influence. Art speaks. It’s voice is heard forever. Works Cited “The Elements of Art”. University of British Columbia. Dec 19, 2012. Web. 15 April 2014 Nielsen, PC., “Where does the content in an artwork come from?”. The Aesthetic Elevator. Read More