A World Without Art
The concept seems frightening when it is considered. What would the world be like without art? What would the world be like without music, without film and other media, without literature? Yes, this would be frightful, a desert. This is not simply rhetoric, but a reality which is averted by artists who are responsible for making the world vibrant, cultural, colorful, interesting, enjoyable as well as provocative, meaningful, insightful and interesting.
When the artist is not patronized, what is the result? The result is that society falls short of where it could be- a place where free expression is allowed to prosper and grow. The world is not only beautified but new ideas are allowed to cultivate and challenge norms; in short…progression. The arts allow a society to progress through painting, sculpture, video, song, performance, film, all creating a dialogue, a forum by which those whose calling it is to be an artist might be understood and heard while making life worth living, through beauty.
When a community gravitates around a few select “celebrity” artists who are revered and paid mass sums, where do others, countless others with as much to say through their art as their abundance of talent, find an outlet where their art might be seen and “heard?”
Sadly, in most communities this is the case. There is a monopoly on art by the few and a recession for many. This by no means implies that those monopolists are anything greater than the others, they are not. Art may be compared to a corporation where the “giants” leave main street deserted. In our community there are giants and they need not be mentioned as they are so well known. But as galleries such as OneTen are faced with closure and the spectrum of quality art is ignored as degenerate, there is something wrong with this situation.
The exhibition, “A World Without Art” was created to challenge the thinking of a community who sees little or no value in art aside from that which they are accustomed to and feel comfortable with. This show is a pro-active statement against such norms in our community. It is an opportunity where many artists have been given the chance to say what they think about the inequality which is the art world in our town. We will not sit lazily around and complain, but show the population of this area that there is more out there, there are more artists worth considering than the few that monopolize the attention and revenue which could be more evenly dispersed…if only the public is willing to stop, consider and think!
Much time and talent has gone into this exhibition, placed directly on Center Street in stores that have closed down due to similar circumstances. Many members of the community pass by this location every day. Many will notice it, and sadly many will not take even take a first look. Regardless, this is an opportunity for those who have worked on the show, artists with much talent and creativity who center their lives around art, live and breathe by it, to show what they can do. This is not fantasy art or fairy tale art which belongs in children’s books, or art that should be used for religious purposes.
To patronize such art is fine, but don’t stop there! There is more to see, more to think about and experience. If the world were left only with the Walmarts of the art world, people might stop and realize what they have missed out on. If the world was left without art, it would cease to be.