art. why bother?

Since the dawn of time humans have been creating art. It seems a bit strange doesn’t it? Biologically, we are wired to conserve energy. Seemingly, our systems are programmed to find food, shelter, safety, reproduce, and do so expending the least amount of energy possible. So why would we expend precious energy creating art?

Creativity is innate in humans, but it comes at a cost. Our brains burn precious calories to create art. Logically, it would be in our best interest to spend those burned brain calories in more practical ways. So why then have humans been compelled to create beautiful things that serve no practical purpose? Whether it’s cave paintings or renaissance masterpieces, it seems to be part of our nature.

Maybe, just maybe, we’re a little more complex than simple survival.

Survival ensures that we are.

Art expresses WHO we are.

We are so much more than simple survival machines. We are a complex tangle of personality, emotion, connection, opinion, and experience. Expressing ourselves and sharing that expression through art seems to be as important to the human experience as food and shelter.

For the artist, it provides a valuable medium for sharing our perspective without words. 

It allows for a purging of hard emotions through creating expression. 

It allows them to communicate their ideas to the world.

It allows them to process and express a rich inner world of feelings that words simply could not express.

Art can be deeply therapeutic. Not just in the creation, but in the sharing.

When art is shared, it’s not just seen, it’s experienced. 

The consumer gets to experience a new perspective, a source of inspiration, motivation, comfort, escape, and so much more. When a piece of art resonates with us we experience something profound. The feeling that we’re not alone. 

When art is appreciated, both the artist and the consumer get to be seen at their core. They get to connect on this shared experience of life at a deep level. 

A piece of art in your home represents so much more than a pretty picture.

It represents connection. 

And perhaps, for our species, connection and understanding are just as important to our survival as food and shelter.

Perhaps, more so.