Art is all around us. It’s an essential part of our cultures and communities. But in what ways does art influence our everyday life and why do we need art in our lives? This is what we are going to talk about in this blog post. I’ve sifted through the pros and cons of why we do and why we don’t need art in our lives and put together 9 reasons that illustrate the importance and influence of art on our lives!
We as humans live and participate in cultures. Cultures are made up of social interactions and activities, customs, traditions – and the arts.
When we think of art, the first thing that comes to mind is paintings and drawings as we see them in museums. But art is not just limited to these areas.
Art is everywhere in our cultures – be it music, literature, visual art, dance, food, etc. This just goes to say how important art is in our lives.
Even if we don’t feel inspired to create art ourselves, we participate in it on a daily basis simply by viewing and experiencing it. We may see murals when we walk through the city, watch and listen to music, visit a dance festival from time to time – and everyone of us surely enjoys the culinary arts.
In a word, art is an essential part of our human lives.
Why is art important in our lives?
Art is so important in our lives because it is everywhere. It essentially shapes our societies. We see it in every city, community, country, and culture.
Art has been around since the beginning of time. The very first humans in this world already expressed themselves in form of cave paintings.
Nowadays, art is a huge market and a paramount economic driving force. Yet, we still wonder why we need art in our lives…
In what ways does art influence our everyday life?
Since art is all around us, it has an influence on our everyday life, too. I’m sure you’ve already experienced how art can lift your spirits.
Just remember when you had a bad day and then you heard your favorite song on the radio. And immediately, you felt better!
Or think of the images you choose to decorate your home with. Don’t you put art on your walls to evoke certain positive emotions?
But art may also be found on other items in your home. Maybe you ordered a coffee cup or a cutting board with your favorite artwork. But there’s also art on your bedspreads, wallpaper, carpet, etc.
That begs the question why we need art in our lives.
Why do we need art in our lives?
Now that we’ve figured that art is everywhere around us, let’s find out why we actually need art in our lives.
I’ve put together 9 reasons that explain the importance of art for us – so let’s have a look!
9 Reasons why we need art in our lives
1. Art is an innate human thing.
Art is something we as humans make naturally. Even children are already creative by nature. They have the urge to draw, paint, play with chalk and clay.
Creating art is as innate to humans as speaking a language. It happens instinctively.
Simply put, art is an expression of who we are.
2. Art reflects our history.
When you look back in history, humans have always been expressing themselves visually. Art and history go hand-in-hand. Just think of the prehistoric cave paintings that people used to depict their lives.
As such, art also helps us understand earlier generations and epochs. We can study Shakespeare or Goethe to find out what difficulties our ancestors were facing and how they dealt with them.
We are using the arts the same way today: to depict events that we experience in our communities and as individuals. Likewise, future generations will be able to learn about us by looking at the art we created.
3. Art is personal expression.
Oftentimes, art is something that artists use to express themselves on a personal level. And for many artists, including myself, using visuals is way easier than using language.
Art offers us a medium to communicate our feelings, ideas, and visions that we may not be able to express in any other way.
Similarly, art enables us to express our unconscious ideas and thoughts, for example in surreal art or pop surreal art, that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to bring to the surface.
(If you’d like to find out more about the meaning behind my surreal art, check out my Making Of’s here.)
4. Art means connecting with each other.
Art does not only help us to connect with our feelings and unconsciousness but also to connect with one another on a deeper level.
These social and interpersonal benefits are one of the most important reasons why we need art in our lives. By making art, we are able to process our individual and common experiences.
Sharing our works through the internet allows us to connect almost instantaneously with other like-minded individuals.
That way, we are able to support each other, exchange ideas, and get through difficult times.
5. Art is healthy.
Believe it or not, but art has serious health benefits! We need art in our lives to stay healthy – mentally and psychologically.
Art is a proven way to cope with stress and improve our well being. There are numerous studies that confirm the positive impact of art on our mental health. Even looking at an artwork is often enough to change our mood in a positive way.
And as you surely know, art is used in a range of therapies to treat mental and psychological illnesses.
In the same way, artists may create art to process traumata, bad experiences, and other difficult things we encounter in our lives!
6. Art is a way to become self-aware.
Art may not only be used as a personal outlet for stress and negative emotions, but it can also help us learn something about ourselves.
The creations we make tell us something about our inner world. They show what makes us happy and what brings us joy and fulfillment. But they also reveal our inner struggles.
In that respect, art may help us to become more self-aware and better understand why we feel and see things the way we do.
7. Art unites societies and cultures.
Beyond the personal benefits, art has an influence on our societies and cultures at large.
Through art, we are able to unite. Just think of the many people you can meet when you go to an art exhibition at a museum or a play in the theater. Art is a way to mingle with people from all walks of life.
Moreover, art can also help foster economic growth. That’s why art is important in our lives when it comes to tourism, too. Artwork of all types attracts visitors.
Theaters, museums, art galleries, and also street art are major touristic attractions. This creates jobs in the community, which lead to more revenue, which leads to economic growth!
8. Art improves critical thinking and soft skills.
Critical thinking and soft skills are things that we need more than ever in today’s world. Art helps to improve those capacities. How?
Because the entire creative process is a process of decision-making. We use both our subconscious mind and our reasoning when we create art. That way, we are able to train both our emotional and our logical thinking as creators.
As a result, creative people often have better soft skills than people who don’t have any artistic passion.
Critical thinking and soft skills are assets we can all benefit from in our working lives. They allow us to make better decisions in our jobs and better collaborate with coworkers.
9. Art is universal and eternal.
As we have seen throughout this post, there are many good reasons why we need art in our lives.
We have learned that art is universal, it’s a language that everyone understands. Art can help a community thrive, make your home more beautiful, and your workplace more interesting.
The last thing to add here is that art is also eternal. It has been with us ever since and it is not going to go away any time soon. Art is here to stay.
And if you now feel inspired to create art yourself, please feel free to just go ahead and get started! It will only have a positive influence on your life.
If you are by any chance interested in digital art, then check out 12 Benefits Of Learning Digital Art (And Where To Learn It).
In conclusion, why we need art in our lives
What we can take away from this post is that art plays an important role in all our lives – regardless of whether we create art ourselves or just admire the artwork of others.
Art contributes to our well-being, helps reduce stress, and gives us a way to express ourselves – as individuals and societies.
Art is an innate part of humanity and allows us to relate to one another on a deeper level. Ultimately, art enriches our cultures and helps our communities flourish and grow.
In short, we need art in our lives to be happy, healthy, and prosperous!
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I constantly thought about this. Thanks for posting, Angie!
Hi Kim, glad to hear the article answered you question. Thanks for stopping by (:
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