Art is a Record
Why do we create art? For the joy of creating, for beauty, for self expression, for an outlet, for any number of reasons. No matter the initial inspiration, what does art always become? Our history. Once a piece of art or design exists in the world it is part of our history.
Everything from a painting, to a piece of music, a poem, a sculpture, a photograph, a love note. Once someone takes the idea from their head and breathes life into that idea, it holds meaning and it is a moment in our history. This can be our personal histories, or on a much larger scale. It can be as small as a child’s drawing being hung on a refrigerator, or hearing a song and it taking you back to a specific moment in your life. It can be as big as an ancient vase teaching us about every day life from a lost civilization. That child, songwriter, or ancient person most likely didn’t make those things to preserve a moment in time, but it happened anyway. The child was simply playing and expressing themselves and the ancient person took the time to decorate a functional piece of art for the sake of the aesthetics. Art is a record.
I do, of course, recognize there is a lot of art created specifically for preserving, or even manipulating, a moment in time too. Think back to Julius Caesar. His portrait was the first time a living person was represented on coinage in Rome, which is bold in and of itself. He also took control over his image, often pairing himself with a deity or with symbols of a deity, to make him appear more powerful and god-like to the people. Propaganda is another clear use of art as manipulation of history, or an attempt to control in the present.
Think about this. Art is what humans used as a means to communicate before we even had an alphabet! We had a deep need to communicate, but had not yet developed the ability to do so clearly. This led to the famous Lascaux cave paintings, Egyptian hieroglyphics, Mesopotamian cuneiform, and so much more. These were all stepping stones to the written languages we use today. Ancient civilizations created intricate jewelry, musical instruments, temples, pyramids, and incredible pottery that taught us so much about what life was like all that time ago.
In our technological age, one could argue that in this moment in time, we are accruing too much history. I think about how few photos there are of my grandparents, and how special those are. Then look ahead to when today’s teens are grandparents. Can you imagine sifting through thousands of photos of your grandparents, many of which have Snapchat filters on them? “And this is Granny as a puppy dog… and a kitty… and with fake eyelashes!” It will be terribly interesting to see what life is like in that day and age. It makes me wonder how this day will be looked back upon.
One thing I can say for certain is that people will still be creating. No matter what technology exists and how the world works, there will always be people seeking to create. To try an be bigger than themselves. To make an impact. To share a purpose. To heal wounds. To pass time. To be silly. The reason doesn’t matter, but I say to you, go make art. I beg you! Even if it’s terrible. Make it. Use your brain and your heart and your hands to conjure up something that did not previously exist in the world. Keep it for yourself, or show it to the world. Either way. Allow yourself time to create and believe that the things that come from your hands, could only come from you in that specific moment in time.
