Gender Roles in Art

Taking note from their colorful and complex surroundings, artisans have been culminating their efforts to produce inspiring pieces since the dawn of time. It is truly striking that a miniscule three-letter word can describe such a vast amount of creativity. Art has a magnificent way of stimulating our brains to feel great emotional depth, regardless whether its’ medium is music, dance, or even paintings. It plays a large part in making our lives infinitely rich on a day-to-day basis. Imagine a world without art; there would be no posters, no pictures, no television. For this reason, ideas that art has continued to be regarded as prestigious and elite are ludicrous. In retaliation of what was exemplified by authors Ortega y Gasset and Suzanne Langer in their respective articles, the intense need to be either educated or cultured is no longer applicable to modern society.

Art is something that makes us more thoughtful and well-rounded humans. On the other hand, varied forms of art are such a large part of our everyday lives; we hardly even stop to think about it. Look at the desk or table where you are seated; someone designed this piece of furniture, henceforth making it art. Your clothing, hairstyle, and shoes are art. Your morning cup of coffee is art. Virtually all-functional designs of everyday life are art. To furthermore promote the availability of art in the modern world, take a look at the effects of assembly lines on one’s personal collection of art. It seems as if the overall meaning of art is taken away when the originality of the piece is mass produced in factories and distributed amongst every Tom, Dick, and Harry.

In essence, the main virtue of art is to convey a reason, meaning, or purpose abstractly- likely in a way that cannot be fathomed by words. Society at large has devised two general notions regarding the classifications of art- if a writer intended a piece to be a poem, it is one whether other poets acknowledge it or not. If exactly the same set of word was written by a journalist, intending them as shorthand notes to help him write a longer article latter, these would not be a poem. On the other hand, it claims that what makes something art or not is how it is experienced by its audience, not by the intention of its creator. Above all else, art is concretely defined; as something that creates a reaction within the observer that is dependant on his or her own personal experiences. Therefore, Langer is correct in the assumption that art is classless.

Unfortunately, most pieces are often shrugged off to obscurity and subjectivity, but this is simply the beauty of being able to make an educated decision about the particular piece. People tend to pride themselves on celebrating art forms that offer instant gratification, such as film. Despite the noted presence of cultural awareness in today’s media, it is rare to find anyone outside of fellow artists and other purposefully cultured individuals to purposefully seek out art other than the typical encounters with it. This is not to say that the general public must be educated or cultured, it is just an overall observation of the laziness of today’s society. Despite facts such as these, Gassett is clearly wrong in the assumption that the common man cannot intellectually comprehend the intentions of art. As noted, society has greatly closed the vast wealth gap that existed less than a century ago, creating a larger mass of educated citizens. Even so, art has existed since the dawn of time, appearing on primitive cave walls. This proves the notion that art is often a way of passing ideas and concepts on to later generations in a universal language.

As we continue to educate ourselves throughout life, it is noticed that art appreciation programs are essential to exposing youngsters to free expression. This idea would please both Langer and Gasset, largely due to its’ focus on expanding the education and culturization of modern youth. Well-developed programs of making and studying art help students better articulate their perceptions, shape coherent responses to experiences, and assist in showing our youth the benefit of fashioning their own images of the world around them contributing to achievement of a greater self confidence and also function as learning tools that reinforce other disciplines like reading, writing and social studies, as well as even science and math. In recent years, national leaders have acknowledged the necessity of including arts experiences in all students’ education, further helping to increase their awareness. After great thought, it has been concluded that while non-educated people retain the ability to critique and enjoy true art, the majority of society that practices such activities remains in the upper classes. I feel as if this has nothing to do with their intellectual abilities over others, but rather that they hold themselves accountable to retaining the stereotype of seeking out the fine arts, specifically paintings. Art is socially rooted, and is that whatever artists, schools and museums say it is. Many wonder who it is that actually determines the value and beauty of genres such as dance, music, and sculpture- the answer lies within the individual intellect.