¶ … Art?
To me, art is a concept that is impossible to define, because any definition of art necessarily limits art, and art should be limitless. I would say that art is what separates humans from other animals, because I feel like the ability to create and appreciate art is one of the defining elements of humanity, but I have seen examples of animals creating artwork, so I do not know that it is a uniquely human concept. However, whether art is unique to humans or is something shared by other highly intelligent animals, I know that art is essential to the human experience. I agree with Dr. Cornell West that, "You can't talk about the struggle for human freedom unless you talk about the different dimensions of what it means to be human" (West). Therefore, to me, art is about, not only being human, but also about creating the social construct of humanity, and I have looked to Cornell West, bell hooks, and George Hegel's explanations about the relationship between art and human experience to develop my view of art.
Cornell West poses an interesting question about art. He asks, "How do all of us become artists of living" (West)? Moreover, he believes that art...
In other words, he sees art as a conduit between life and living. I agree with West's perspective in many ways. I believe that people can exist without art, but that art is critical for living in a manner that has been defined as traditionally human. Whether the art consists of drawings on a cave wall, stories passed down in an oral tradition, or modern movies, all art employs the common rhetorical devices of ethos, logos, and pathos to convey emotional messages from the artist to the audience. However, because art is subjective, the audience impacts the message that the art conveys. This interaction between artist and audience is symbolic of the most basic of emotional human interactions. In other words, it is living.
The idea that art is essential to living, even if not required for existence, has been proven by evidence of art in subsistence situations. Bell Hooks points out that "In countries where folks are ravished by genocidal war and famine, suffering, anguished bodies shroud themselves in beautiful cloth. Indians in Mexico and the United States, living in various states in impoverishment, make clay pots that…
