The Connection between Art and Human Values - Term Paper Example

Section 1 It is beyond any doubt that the connection between art as well as human values is extremely strong. There is a quote in the reading which shows that art has one of the key roles when it comes to shaping human values: “Anthropologists frequently claim that art contributes essential social benefits to primitive societies: it expresses or relieves or canalizes feelings, reiterates social values, mirrors the social code, provides an avenue for shared experience, and the like—all of which are socially useful activities” (Dissanayake, 2013). Indeed, the author was able to grasp the unique function of art, namely to form the direction of the development of the society. As it is pointed in the quote, the role of art can be traced back even to the primitive society. That is why it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that the societies that are known now are the result of the culture which existed in the primitive times. Indeed, the Eastern cultures are known for collectivism and a complex perception of the world: all this is matched by the art that is traditional to this part of the world which is broad depiction of nature or literature that heavily relies on the interplay of the shades of meanings. Contrary to that the early art of the Western world is much more objectified and straightforward which resembles the kind of thinking of the people who live there. It is quite understandable that over centuries all this was enshrined in the values which were promoted by the society. It was rather insightful for me to read about the above mentioned function of art since it allowed me to develop a completely different perspective on this area of social life. I believe that now I will examine any work of art, modern or ancient, from a sociological point of view as well. Nevertheless, I also found that the above mentioned relationship is also reciprocal which means that socially accepted values are able to influence art as well. For example, the support for this approach might be found in the following quotation: “In historic times in the West, too, art has served social ends such as documentation, illustration of precepts and stories that are significant to society, pictorial reinforcement of traditional beliefs, distraction and entertainment, impressive display of wealth and power, facilitation in a group of a dominant mood, and so forth” (Dissanayake, 2013). Thus, the function of a documentation tool that is often performed by art is largely overlooked; however, if one closely examines artifacts of the past, one will be able to see that they clearly reflect the dominant values of the age. For example, when the government of the United States waged war against Indians, westerns were extremely popular since they reinforced the dominance of the whites. Many centuries after, when the society adopted the European ideal of beauty, the main female characters in the movies were primarily played by blondes. Moreover, when the fight for civil right in the United States was and the rise and the period of racial segregation was over, the number of African American people on the screen significantly rose which reflected the general desire of the Americans to include every part of the population in the artistic discourse. So, the relationship between human and social values as well as art can be easily seen. I understood that all the above mentioned leads to the understanding that art collections might be regarded as a peculiar accumulation of experience that was gained by the society in general and greatly valued. Section 2 From the readings, I was able to understand that when it comes to analysis of art, a person who performs it should take into close consideration various points of view that can be identified in the context. While some people might struggle with finding them, one reading was able to provide them in abundance: “The author illustrates different multicultural make-ups that a multiracial, an adoptee, a U.S.-born and an immigrant individual develop despite their common tie to Korea” (Chang). As one can clearly see, there are four points of view that were highlighted by the author which all had a common connection to their Korean cultural background, but varied in the degree in which it was manifested. For example, a person who belongs to two or more races will surely struggle with self identification since he or she would have to take into account different cultural heritage. This raises a peculiar question: is this a person who partially belongs to two or more races or is one a full representative of each race? Other instances which were mentioned above, such as citizenship or adoption status, may also significantly influence on the way art is perceived by a person. All this shows that the number of points of view that art can be perceived from is tremendous and this plurality of experiences should be paid attention to when it comes to assessing influence of art on the people. Therefore, I believe that my sense of value is primarily shaped by my cultural background and is heavily rooted in it. What is more important is that this connection to one’s background and roots can not be change, but only acknowledge and examined properly. That is why to a certain extent my perception of the world is adjusted by my previous experience, for example my childhood. Keeping in might the way art was able to affect the sense of values, I was able to see the former plays in its emergence is extremely significant since it allows every individual to develop a unified vision at least temporarily. A good example is a performance in theatre. For a limited amount of time a group of people is able to see a particular work of art from almost the same perspective. This is highlighted in the following phrase: “the nature of performance enables the members of an audience to arrive at collective ‘readings’ of performance ‘texts’, and how such reception by different audiences may impact upon the structure of the wider socio-political order” (Kershaw, 2013). This means that the above mentioned numerous aspects of perception can be equalized by a shared artistic experience. I should point out that I have also been a part of the audience for many performances and was able to feel this bonding power that emerges after a group of different people saw the same show. In spite of the fact that these bonds may not be the strongest, but they sure serve as some kind of social glue for the people. What is more important is that through this unified vision that society is able to influence the values that different people comply with and, therefore, promote a particular point of view. I see this as the major reason why the society should carefully monitor the kind of art that is being shown in the society since it may become a powerful agent and influence the mind of the people in no time. Section 3 Finally, it may be particularly important to point out that art is not always performed in a social environment that is tolerant to other cultures. This means that there might be situations when a certain part of the population is oppressed by the other and the former tries to minimize any chance of conflict which is inevitable reflected in art. For example, one of the reading suggested that “when our [African American] parents were straightening their children’s hair it was to make them acceptable and to avoid the abuse they themselves had endured” (Atlas, 2013). There is no doubt that such phenomenon is horrible since it has a rather devastating influence on the cultural life of the oppressed part of the population and does not allow it to develop to its fullest. Indeed, there is possibility that over time the group that experiences impact of the dominant one might forget some parts of its own cultural heritage which will surely be a tremendous loss for the entire humanity. That is why it would not be a mistake to suggest that the social environment should be structured in such a way that would make sure that creative needs of every part of the population is satisfied. In this case, there is no risk that a certain group of people will have to introduce changes into its aesthetic world because of collective bias or discrimination. Therefore, I suppose that art should be seen as a harbor for people who want to experience the cultural dimension of their identity. Personally, I acknowledge that every person from time to time should be allowed to express one’s creative energy without restrictions. I am strongly convinced that this contributes to inner balance and satisfaction. So, it was rather sorrowful to learn that African Americans had to introduce changes into their style just to fit it. All this brings the discussion to a simple question: what is the role of arts in social chance. There is no doubt that the reading about Hair Parties project was able to show that this are of human activity might become a key actor in the process of social change. As it was pointed out in the text: “the project [Hair Parties] uses public dialogue to stimulate artistic ideas, and artistic work to stimulate dialogue” (Atlas, 2013). I believe that the above mentioned project was truly a peculiar one since it provided the audience with a completely different view on the way hair should be seen within the framework of the American society. Indeed, some people think that a hair style is nothing but a small part of one’s look that is influenced by the contemporary fashion. However, in reality, the meaning behind it may be extremely deep. That is why art is able to show this and allow those parts of the population who were silenced articulate their concerns and feeling with regard to the current state of affairs. That is why social change can often be facilitated through arts works and exhibition of them, rather than protests and marches. There is no doubt that in case of artistic dimension, the impact that is made on the social environment is backed up by rather deep forces that will play a key role in the long run. So, art should be named among essential social agents. As I could clearly see on the example of the project in question, a simple show is able to convey complex meaning and allow people to express their inner potential. References Atlas, C. (2013). The Hair Parties Project Case Study; Urban Bush Women. In Art and Human Values. San Diego, CA: Cornella. Chang, H. (2013). Re-examining the Rhetoric of the "Cultural Border" In Art and Human Values. San Diego, CA: Cornella. Dissanayake, E. (2013). Art as a Human Behavior: Toward an Ethnological View of Art. In Art and Human Values. San Diego, CA: Cornella. Kershaw, B. (2013). Performance, Community, Culture. In Art and Human Values. San Diego, CA: Cornella. Read More