Is art for the sake of bauty or for the sake of community???

Answer 1

I am not arrogant enough to believe that I have the definite answer, because I believe that no one does, since different people approach art in different ways and have varied reasons for creating and enjoying art.

I believe it can be a form of self expression for the sake of beauty or conveying emotions which are not always beautiful, OR to contribute to a community and meet others with similar interests; or a mixture of both.

Answer 2

Here's a can of worms that I haven't dealt with for a while.

Art in a community perspective should beautify as well as meet social standards. Or at least that's what I've been told over and over. While I agree with this to a point (depending on the community project at hand) we're talking about art that to me is only one piece of a giant puzzle. I have been personally told that what I do has "no social redeeming value" and that it's "not art" because of it's subject matter and because of imagery used.

While it can be used for beautification purposes sometimes it's only used to make someone feel important and used in the guise of "best for the community". Lets face it if you hide behind art that is always "safe" you exclude another part of the community. Art is not and should not be safe and pretty all the time.

People still like to believe in the suburban dream of the house with the white picket fence and I am no different. However I also see the darker and lower aspects of life and to me they're more interesting. They have a story to tell and it's usually not pretty. If art is an interpretation of life than not all art is pretty or acceptable to the higher ups in the community. The thing is it's just as if not more valid than the happy, serene, and safe images that people wrap themselves up in.

I have no real problem with art being used to make a part of the community a better place to live. My problem is it gets used in places that are already nice. How about going into some of the crap neiborhoods and doing the same sort of projects there? It won't happen. It would level the playing field a bit. Maybe, just maybe some of the people there would gain a bit of respect and would want to be a part of something bigger. It would never happen unless those there did it on their own.

Everyone likes to put out their opinion of art and what's good and what's not. I think it's funny how if you do nice and safe art you get brought into the community as a respected member of it. But do something that's not safe and you can get put out not only by what the general public thinks but that art community as well! (I've had it happen to me.)

While art can be a beautiful thing at can also reflect the things we wish weren't there. And that is something that our society has yet to grasp.

I'm just not ranting but I feel that art is what it is and it can be both beautiful and horrible. Forget the community and leave what's good or not up to the individual. If it's an exhibit, put it all out there for the world to see and let the individual decide and don't let the community decide what's good or not. To each they're own.

Now art that's out in public like a mural on a wall for instance is something different. Not everything should be seen it has to fit the surroundings. I wouldn't put what I do in a park because it doesn't fit. Now in an industrial setting sure, some if it I could do there.

Forget about art for the sake of beauty or art for the sake of the community and try ART FOR THE SAKE OF ART!

The defense rests it's case.

Answer 3

Art is self expression. So, when sharing art, for the sake of beauty and community both apply (depending on what the 'art' actually is? And, whether or not community appreciates art.

Answer 4

I feel that although I could sit here and explain it to you myself, I would actually be doing you a great diservice to do so without actually referring you to the way that I myself learned about this subject.

It was through watching a video by Joseph Campbell on the subject of the Irish Author James Joyce.

In this extraordinary and brilliant video ( Which I have only half recorded and have been looking for in its entirety ever since. ) Campbell explains the experience and condition of art in a way that no two men come together in the history of the written language has ever expressed it or ever will again.

I could go on and on about it forever... It is an exceptional description in and of itself and it is unmatched in detail and human descriptive beauty and observation.

Find it and you will have found yourself a treasure... The philosophers stone (so to speak) of the art and literature world.

Answer 5

It is for the sake of the soul. It is an expression of the beauty inside that appreciates the beauty outside. You have to have beauty in you to appreciate it. It may benefit the community but it is a refection from within that makes it matter. Imagine this beautiful planet without a soul to witness it.