Why you need art and probably why you don't

“The art should be taught to kids who have talent. For the rest of us, they’re simply a waste of time” — some random parent at school

Sounds familiar? You’ve probably heard it from parents, classmates or lazy office mates who want you to create something because they never tried to do so. This is for everyone who thinks they can’t do art. But before anything else, let us know what art is for two big people then and now.

"Art is theft" - Pablo Picasso, Spaniard, neoclassic and surrealist painter, 20th century art influencer (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pablo-Picasso)

From the book ‘Steal like an Artist’ by Austin Kleon (which I recommend you to read), we are born artists but nobody is born with a style or a voice. We learn by copying from our heroes. Plagiarism? Not really — not the content but the practice. It’s more on examining how something works rather than how the outcome looks like.

You don’t have worry about it. Picasso even followed his mentor Matisse before he surpassed him. The ‘Boyce Avenue’ started as a cover band. Do you know that ‘The Beatles’ too? Paul McCartney once said, “I emulated Buddy Holly, Little Richard, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis. We all did.”

Whatever you wanna be: a writer, a film director, an entrepreneur, a painter, a musician, a professor or a great philosopher, it’s easy who to copy but be careful what you copy. We don’t want to look like our masters; rather, we want to think the way they do.

"The art challenges the technology; technology inspires the art" - John Lasseter (not Lannister), American, Former animator and director - Pixar Animation Studios (https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-Lasseter)

Toy Story, the first CGI–only feature ever made was produced by Pixar Animation Studios (https://www.pixar.com/). After that, we look forward to sophisticated details of The Incredibles, The Good Dinosaur, Cars, Coco, Finding Dory, Up, Inside Out, Finding Nemo and Wall -e.

Art does not revolve around the visual arts orbit. Greek Philosopher Plato said the arts are powerful shaper of character. It trains and protects an ideal society. Here are some reasons why art is important from my heroes.

You can’t get away with it

"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up" - Pablo Picasso

Before a child can write and follow patterns of the English alphabet, you'd see some lines, shapes and their own composition sooner before they follow the guidelines on a piece of paper. Either anyone would like it or not, they will continue to create these images. That's nature.

Michael Stager, Psychologist said 'kids think that they are getting better and better at representing the reality around them. When they're still young, they seem to compare what they're doing to what they want to do. Magically, they seem to regard each creation as a triumphic accomplishment of whatever they were working toward'.

You probably can't remember the last time you held some crayons and draw your pet or write your sibling's name on the wall because you're too old to do so. However, your subconscious mind is extremely powerful and it can play havoc with your best efforts when learning skills. You have this inner critic that says you can't do anything before you even start working. Don't worry. You never left your inner artist. You are - you just decided to settle with other forms of art where you developed appreciation with.

"Everywhere you go art is evident. Parks often use sculptures to add interest and to inform people. Posters on walls give information and motivation. Music plays on the radio to keep your energy levels up. Without even realizing it we find ourselves immersed in the power of art most of the time" - David Norris, Interior Designer

Even your computer or your mobile phone you're facing all-day long used art in its creation. Weiwei Shao on International Conference on Management Science and Innovative Education introduced in his article that the style of modern art is widely used in contemporary design. So, we felt that the distance of artist and designer had been pulled closer and closer, that the lines between art and design had been increasingly blurred. To make it short, art and design somehow comes together in every creation.

In another perspective, Semir Zeki, London University Cognitive Neurologist said that one of the functions of art is an extension of the major function of the visual brain. Your brain is the artist itself. Zeki expounded that we define the general function of art as a search for the constant, lasting, essential, and enduring features of objects, surfaces, faces, situations, and so on, which allows us to acquire knowledge about the particular object or face.

Derek S. Sanderson and Stephen K. Sanderson in 'Art and Human Nature Critique of Contemporary Art' said art is a means to know the world and its people, to exhibit personal life, to create personal symbolism, and to show one's identity or the search for it. Art represents human nature in different faces.

Art is Sanity

"Often creativity helps you to express parts of yourself that are being hidden" - Dr. Sheridan Linnell, Master of Art Therapy, University of Western Sydney

Sitting down on a couch and discussing about your problems is therapy. But instead of talking about it, picking up a paintbrush and starting some careless strokes may help you ease the pain. This is art therapy in the growing branch of psychotherapy. It is the application of visual arts in a therapeutic context.

How does it work? Those who have been through trauma find it particularly difficult to put their story into words and express it to others - often not just for emotional reasons, but physiological reasons. In a paper published in the Journal of the Psychological, Social and Behavioral Dimensions of Cancer, Bar-Sela concluded that art therapy is worthy of further study in the treatment of cancer patients with depression or fatigue during chemotherapy treatment.

"Due to advances in technology and neuroimaging, we now know there's an actual shut down in the Broca's - or the speech-language area of the brain - after an individual experiences trauma," art therapist Melissa Walker says in her Ted Talk, that's why people under trauma needs other means of communicating their feelings.

An article in the Journal of Dementia and Geriatric Cognitive Disorders confirmed the valuable effect of music therapy on anxiety and depression in patients with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease. This new music therapy technique can easily be integrated in a multidisciplinary programme for the management of Alzheimer's disease.

"From my rotting body, flowers shall grow and I am in them, and that is eternity" - Edvard Munch, Norwegian Expressionist

Edvard Munch reveals an honest and perhaps even ugly glimpse of his inner troubles and feelings of anxiety, putting more importance on personal meaning than on technical skill as a traditional goal of art. According to Munch's diaries, the idea and inspiration for 'The Scream' was very autobiographical. Closely based on a personal experience, 'The Scream' was first recorded in an 1892 diary entry which Munch later adapted into The Scream painting and finally, in 1895, a poem.

Edvard Munch, who never married, called his paintings his children and hated to be separated from them. Living alone on his estate outside Oslo for the last 27 years of his life. He was increasingly revered and increasingly isolated. He surrounded himself with work that dated to the start of his long career.

The next time you feel sad or your anxiety attacks try to beat you, grab that pen, pencil, brush or that guitar beside you and blow your heart out. Write or draw whatever disturbs you the most and maybe that would make you feel a little lighter.

The ‘art’ in ‘smart’

"There are many schools of painting. Why should there not be many schools of photographic art? There is hardly a right and a wrong in these matters, but there is truth, and that should form the basis of all works of art." - Alfred Stieglitz, Editor-Camera Club of New York

Alfred Stieglitz schooled as an engineer but pursued his passion of photography. He returned to New York in 1890 determined to prove that photography was a medium as capable of artistic expression as painting or sculpture and should be included in the school curriculum.

Anna Kindler said in the article 'Visual Culture, Visual Brian and Art Education' published in the Journal of Issues and Research said that as any other domain of education, art education has as one of its prerogatives encouragement of human development and learning. Consequently, how we conceptualize this growth is central to curriculum decisions, nature of pedagogical interventions and ways in which success is assessed.

In the New York Times article 'Art makes you Smart' by Brian Kisida, students who, by lottery, were selected to visit the museum on a field trip demonstrated stronger critical thinking skills, displayed higher levels of social tolerance, exhibited greater historical empathy and developed a taste for art museums and cultural institutions. (institutionshttps://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/24/opinion/sunday/art-makes-you-smart.html).

"What is more clear is the benefit that the arts have on psychological capacities for imagining other perspectives and continually reinventing oneself," - Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, Associate Professor of Education, psychology and neuroscience at University of Southern California

According to the book 'Art and Creative Development for Young Children', art process involves active, hands-on doing, exploring, experimenting, trying out and manipulating tools and sensory rich media. Its processing honors the unexpected and provides for problem solving.

On the other hand, in the article 'Music in the Classroom: Its Influence on Children's Brain Development, Academic Performance, and Practical Life Skills', Yoon, Jenny Nam said music education is believed as an equally significant core subject in the curriculum. Literature demonstrates the benefits of music education, discussing the influence of music on the child's brain development, academic performance, and practical life skills.

If you ever find yourself burnt out with work or classes, you probably need some break; a walk in the park or a visit to museums. You might want to spend the weekend jamming with your friends or learning new skills.

Those are just some of the reasons why we need art. Keep that inner artist burning in you.