Whether it was bustling crowds in the 1600s gathering in the Globe Theatre watching Shakespeare, people roaming the majestic halls of the Louvre admiring the Mona Lisa, or people savoring the buttery and salty kick of their popcorn under the light of the big screen, art has always been a staple in people’s lives.
Art is a part of everything, whether we realize it or not. It is the design on the bottle of soda you’re drinking, the cozy sweater you are wearing when the crisp frigid air of fall comes around, and it’s the architecture around you in the halls of MCC. There are many different forms of art that play into our everyday lives. From a building’s architecture to the newest movies coming out, art is all around us.
Art doesn’t only affect us externally, but also affects us internally. According to the Mental Health Foundation: “Participating in the arts can enable people to deal with a wide range of mental ill-health conditions and psychological distress… It can help to boost confidence and make us feel more engaged and resilient…. art engagement also alleviates anxiety, depression, and stress.” Adding any form of art in your everyday life could help relieve symptoms of mental illness and help decrease stress in your life.
Even though art can be beneficial to mental health, many people dismiss the importance of art when comparing it to medical and technological advances. Art might not cure people of illnesses or help advance technology, but it is still essential to humanity’s survival. Art gives meaning beyond what is necessary to live and adds more value to everyday life through expression and creativity. Jay Geller, who has been a professor at MCC for 24 years and teaches a variety of classes related to the arts, like acting, film, and the basics of theater, believes that one of the reasons why art is necessary in society is because it allows us to think and observe more closely at the world.
“[Art] enhances critical thinking and makes us see more than what’s in front of us,” Geller said. “[Without art] we all become automatons and there’s nothing that makes us unique…. Everything is important, we need to have machinery, account for numbers, and do all these things, we need to do all those things. But we need to be able to enjoy and thrive and art is one of the ways that we do that.”
Art is important to survival because it adds variety into our lives and enhances critical thinking by allowing people to closely observe and analyze the world around them. Art imitates life, whether it is a movie that is paralleling critical events or a painting about an important historic moment, art is used as a medium to voice opinions and allows others to form their own opinions on the subject. Without art, people wouldn’t be exposed to new ideas and wouldn’t be able to expand their minds. Art is necessary for survival because it teaches humanity to look beyond what is necessary to live and instead enriches our lives by exploring new ways to express emotions and ideas.
Another reason art is essential for society is simple, but often overlooked: Happiness. Our society tends to be so focused on productivity that people forget that it’s okay to do things just for fun. It is important to do practical things for your life, like working out and having a career that helps you become financially stable, but doing things only because it makes you happy is essential because it makes life more enjoyable. Happiness is essential because if we are doing things that are only necessary to live in society, then what makes us different than animals?
To fully understand how art is necessary for society, we must look at what happens when people try to limit or censor art. An example of this is the rise of book-bans in the United States. In an article by Brooke Baitinger from the Miami Herald, she reports that, “among those 1,650 or so titles, PEN America researchers found that 81% of them explore LGBTQ themes or have protagonists or significant supporting characters who identify as LGBTQ or nonwhite.” Diversity is important, especially in art, because it gives people an opportunity to see themselves and their stories. Taking away stories that represent people makes many people believe that to participate in art — like painting, writing, music — they must be the best at it, but whether you have innate talent or not, art is important for everyone to experience. Everyone must start somewhere.
There are many ways to introduce art in your own life. One way to is to try and make art a regular hobby in your life. There are many types of art, like drawing, painting, music, dancing, and many more that are very low-cost to do on your own. There are many resources, like YouTube or books from your local library that can help teach you whatever form of art you want to learn.
You can also introduce art into your life by exploring your artistic interest at MCC. To complete any degree at MCC you must have around twenty-three credits towards electives, which are courses that count towards your graduation, but are not requirements for your degree of study. Many people use the requirement of electives as an opportunity to explore a new interest. If you are interested in a form of art, like painting, creative writing, or acting, taking a class on it is a great way to get familiar with the subject.
Another way to introduce art into your life is to join a club. Whether at MCC or outside of it, there are many clubs that give you an opportunity to explore your art of choice. Whether it is film or painting there are many clubs in your community available for people to join. An example of this in our own community is the Crystal Lake Park District, which has many programs and events available to experience art.
Art has always been and will be a staple of humanity. Next time you sit down to watch your favorite TV show to relieve some stress after a difficult day or read a new story that brings you joy, think about the ways that art has impacted your life. Art adds so much to humanity, whether it is expressing new ideas or bringing enjoyment, art will always be irreplaceable in society.
