Children and adults alike need the arts in their lives. Without art in our lives creativity, joy and style would all disappear. Art helps to improve creativity, children and adults who are heavily exposed to art are more likely to create art themselves. We rely upon art much more than we can realize and without the arts our world would be dull and unimaginative. Technological advances would be stymied and life as we know it would still be in the dark ages. Art made so many things, like the invention of the wheel, possible.
Communication
Some of the earliest forms of written communication were pictographs. Cave dwelling people could leave messages for their friends or warnings to their enemies by drawing with soot on cave walls or carving with stones or whatever sharp implement they had handy. They could record their histories and memorialize their greatest achievements. Some of the best examples we have left to us are the Paleolithic cave paintings from the Altamira Cave in Spain dated as far back as 20,000 years ago. The oldest known cave paintings date around 40,000 years old, found in the caves in the district of Maros Indonesia.
As time progressed the pictographs were transformed by civilizations, like the ancient Egyptians, into hieroglyphics. Among other things they were used to tell of the glory of the Egyptian monarchy and decorate the tombs of pharaohs like Seti the 1st and Tutankhamun. Later came the modern alphabet. Without those first sketches on the cave walls, we wouldn’t have a written language. Communication would have strictly relied on word of mouth. We also would have far less of an idea of what human life was like back then. Historians rely on ancient art to tell them about the history of humanity.
Modern architecture
Architecture would be little better than boxes stacked upon boxes without art. Bridges, towers, castles, and pretty much anything better than a hut or hovel would have proved impossible without the arts. Architects rely on years of training in drawing; design and some architecture is so beautiful it is even considered to be art. Take the Golden Gate Bridge for example, the structure that spans San Francisco Bay and is beautiful to look at. It would have been an impossible feat to build such a large bridge without the careful design of an architect.
Other great examples of architecture being considered art are the beautiful creations of architects like Frank Lloyd Wright. Best known for his work on homes like Falling Water, Price Tower, Imperial Hotel in Tokyo and countless others. The Empire State Building by Shreve, Lamb and Harmon is also a sight to behold. Let’s not forget to mention the beauty of monuments such as the Arc de Triomphe, the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of liberty and the Syndey Opera House to name a few.
Fashion
Without the all-encompassing influence of the arts, we would probably all be wearing fur pelts still. Cloth and woven textiles are an art form. Silk, cotton, and wool were only made possible by artists who chose to take fibers and spin them into threads and weave them into soft cloths.
Clothing designers have heavy influence in the way we dress. There are many designers who were largely worried about function rather than fashion like Levi Strauss. Strauss’s purpose was to create a heavy duty garment to withstand the rigors of mining and other hard labor. Beautiful garments like wedding gowns, military uniforms, the flapper dress and undergarments with lace were designed and created by artists.
It’s also important to mention the use of color in cloth. Many of the colors we know and love to wear were only made possible by artists. Paints were only available in limited colors. Artists where the biggest users of color and were the best suited for creating new ones. Artists had to mix their own colors and would experiment with flowers, minerals like zinc oxide, titanium dioxide, and even human bone. There are several colors lite, Titian Blue and Scheele’s Green, that only came about thanks to artists.
Technology
The invention of the wheel was likely thanks to the innovation of an artist. Inventors and artists are one and the same. They think creatively and because of that, great innovations can come about.
Leonardo Da Vinci was one of the most famous artist inventors. He dreamed up flying machines, weapons, and he even toyed with improving cleaning devices like mops and brooms. Nikola Tesla, best known for his work with electricity, created designs and schematics of his works which many people see as art. Without being able to draw schematics we wouldn’t have any records of his work. The same goes for inventors like Thomas Edison, the inventor of the Edison bulb. Rube Goldberg, the artist, is best known for his invention of the Rube Goldberg machine, the machine that has multiple, complex reactions to perform a simple task. His invention is the best example of technology’s dependance on the arts.
Bill Gates and Steve Jobs created an industry that we all rely on daily. The computers and technological advances that they made possible created a gateway to the arts. Movies and the entertainment industry wouldn’t even be possible without the technology created by inventors and the inventors would not have been inspired if it weren’t for the arts and the creativity it inspires.
Modern Medicine
The human body was once a mysterious thing. Doctors used to have absurd ideas about the inner workings of the body until brave artists began dissecting and sketching the dead. At first, the exploration of cadavers and recording the discoveries made was appalling and wrong. Thankfully, over time the world came to accept and even be grateful for artists like Da Vinci who was brave enough to make these discoveries. Without artists, who sketched out and created diagrams of the systems that make up our bodies, we would probably still rely on leeches and magic spells to cure us of all what ails us.
Happiness
There have been many studies that show that art can reduce stress [1]. Creating and observing art can help reduce cortisol in the brain. Cortisol is also known as the “stress” hormone. It’s commonly known fact that doing something you love makes you happy. The body releases endorphins and as a result, you feel happy. Art can be a very effective outlet for anger, pain, and frustration as well as happiness. You can also experience a boost in your confidence which improves your mood as well.
In conclusion, everyone needs art in their lives.