Sunday, October 21, 2007

Does Art Matter...?

The world sometimes looks a great place to live in when you meet people who possess amazing qualities like - desire to create a memorable & pleasant experience for others by aesthetic expression of their thoughts, willingness to give back to society, wish to pursue their true passions...! As I was checking the Yale Calendar this morning, I notice "Exploring Human Expression Through Nature" Event that intrigued my consciousness.

Anyways, as anticipated the Seminar was quite informative - Alice (Yale undergrad Student) spoke at length about the the exhibits. The most interesting part was the description which we learnt about every painting. In additon to getting awed by works of art - on canvas, on walls, on fabric, on wood, on glace paper, on grains etc th gallery guide encouraged us to make our own interpretations about the masterpieces.


All of a sudden, I feel its fun research closely about the
encyclopedic works of Art. A decade ago, I used to wonder how can someone spend hours in a museum where time seems to be static....! But now looking at art - I can relate to true human emotions, human psyche, perspectives, impressions and most importantly reflections of life. By focusing on the way an ace artist depicts a some aspect of life / era, one can connect with a different world way back in time. Another observation I made was the way artists work so meticulously & patiently (some portraits took years to complete - we were told !!) - exhibits the deepest human need - the need to be heard and feel appreciated...! But its great that hundreds of years later, researchers / curators continue analyzing the masterpieces and keep on deciphering more about them. For now, here's how my mind can best describe Art as:

  • A medium of expression where the individuals and culture come together
  • Realisation of true self
  • Way to question existing beliefs
  • Creative Spark
  • Visual Representation of Dreams / Experiences

Infact I have decided to get involved @ YUAG and help them in making art matter by participating in intrepretive projects, exhibits and talks. My question to all readers & friends is "Does Art Matter?" (Honest opinions pls - wish to reaffirm my belief before I get hooked in Art :)) By the way current exhibits at Yale Univ Art Gallery can be accessed right here.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

name sahi hai na ? :)

C said...

Another great article Chinmay, and thanks for leaving an open-ended question forcing people lazy like me to write something.

Realisation of true self - this is the definition i think defines 'Art' perfectly to me, and this is the definition i will consider to give my honest opinion to the question.

Yes - Art does matter, be it a painting by Michaelangelo or Leonardo, a poetic work by Tagore or a movie by Spielberg.

If my interpretation is correct; Today what we call Art, was a work done will full zeal and interest by a person in the 'Present Times' of 'History'. And this gives us, the people of 'present', a hope to be recognized , to be successful, and our work to be appreciated as a work of Art by the soon coming future.

Anonymous said...

Dost , reading your article , felt I was speaking to you . article is very lively - you are a good writer.

Dhaval

Anonymous said...

IT really matters!
ART is a powerful madium of expression of emotions & a perfect way to WORSHIP.
=When an artist's emotions overflow his heart ,mind or soul,his creative spirit gives birth to a masterpiece in the form of a painting ,poem ,scrupture etc.
It is always very pious & inspiring.
On top of it, we need to be receptive to these creative messages transmitted to us through these objects .
Thank you dear blogger to remind us about our great artists & their great contribution in shaping our thoughts & bringing about a potive change in society.
Life will be dull without art.
Let us give respect & recognition to art & their creators.
The blog itself is a piece of ART.
SUPERB!

Chinmay said...

Thanks for the awesome feedback n candid opinion of "Art" Chetan. Liked ur expression style a lot ...!

Chinmay said...

Thanks Dad - I particularly liked ur point of being attentive in order to receive "creative messages" in our proximity...! Keep Inspiring..!

Anonymous said...

Art, as they is the base of creativity! Even this blogger's extraordinary piece of writing style and content lets us realise the vitality of art and its presentation. I couldn't attend this seminar but then felt like I was actually attending it after reading this post.YUAG is something you should go for if you think that you can contribute something that worthy to the art world; its actually a wise way of making the world a better place by being one of those proactive contributors to preserve art~the root of everything!So, it really matters buddy!! Very well written post!