Art To The Rescue,



Part One: The Art of Life and Death


As human beings, many of us hope to find meaning in our lives. In quiet moments we wonder what all our efforts are for, and whether or not hard work and success really matter when we're just going to die anyway. Who hasn't paused to consider the worth of their struggles, the reason for living? Who hasn't felt uneasy when acknowledging that we may only have this life..and no other?


Indeed, existential angst is forever in the background and the backs of our minds. Death's proximity is hard to gauge, but you know it's closer now than it was at the beginning of this sentence.


And because of death, the yearning to understand and appreciate life becomes frantic for some and a lost cause for others. Some people try to overpower existential emptiness with the friction of the grindstone, immersing themselves in so much activity that reflective pauses are impossible. Others allow addictions to provide sinister structure for themselves, briefly indulging the escapist urge in ecstasy only to find life even less bearable when their moment of pleasure passes. Religion is helpful to some, while others find it unfulfilling.


But one way or another, we all grope around and try to cope, hoping to stay healthy in the whirlwind of existence.


To me, being healthy means having a deep appreciation for life, an all-encompassing perspective on one's circumstances, and the ability to celebrate and acknowledge beauty and sadness. It also involves seeing life as a story filled with interesting characters, varied scenery, conflicts to overcome, and morals to learn. In it's highest form, this awareness reaches the spiritual level.


Art can be the amazing tool that helps to maintain this perspective, preserving moments, channeling fear, anger, hope, and sadness, and helping to mark time in an abstract way, as each burst of inspiration says something about the artist and what state they were in at the moment of creation. It is deeply gratifying when, on your worst day, you are able to express yourself artistically, making beauty out of pain. Not all problems can be solved, thus sometimes all we can do is honor the suffering.


Of course art can also be celebratory, playful, frivolous or anything one wants it to be. And such positive energy, when looked back upon during a difficult period, may be a comforting reminder of life's amazing diversity of experience. Seeing something that we created during an upbeat phase allows for the recollection of better days and the realization that there has been more to one's life than just the present frustration. Paintings, poems, films, stories, all serve as colorful time capsules, archives of emotion that endure to be reopened endlessly.


In the next few weeks I will have much more to say on the subject!


Part II


. As most of us realize, not all human beings live in comfortable circumstances. Our own financial worries, physical and emotional imperfections, and past traumas, may be dwarfed when compared to the plight of those living in regions ravaged by war, famine, or natural disaster.


Regardless of the circumstances, however, I believe that every human life is worthy of art. Anyone's existence could be made into a novel, song, poem, book, or movie, because stories require conflict to be interesting, something that all lives have. It may take cleverness and creativity to portray a boring or painful existence artistically, but it can be done. And the finished product doesn't have to be happy, hopeful, or uplifting. Some of the world's most beloved stories are sad ones.


For those fortunate enough to not be trapped in circumstances so dire that they have no time for reflection, it is often beneficial to step back from immediate predicaments and take a panoramic view of life. Think of how novel and intriguing problems can be in the midst of a story, and try to acknowledge the beauty, drama, and romance of your own struggles. Seeing life through a poetic or artistic eye helps with that intangible challenge we've all struggled with, the desire to be "in the moment".


Indeed, it seems a sad human tendency to appreciate things after they are over. A sublime moment arrives, it's beauty not fully recognized until it's gone, and then the struggle to regain it ensues. "Stepping back" is really just realizing that something special is happening AS it's happening.


We cannot recreate lost moments nor do we have complete control over new ones. But sometimes works of art move us in unexpectedly powerful ways, creating emotive reactions that heighten aliveness.


For example, who hasn't been moved by a song that seemed to fit immediate circumstances, causing tears or ecstatic chills? Most people will likely confess to having cried at the movies. Even getting angry is preferable to the deadness that many days seem to bring. Art awakens and releases a torrent, breaking the logjam of stagnant senses.


Creative works become means for preserving moments, for hanging onto satisfaction. Even the snapshots people decorate their cubicles with qualify, as they represent an attempt at maintaining nourishing memory. Songs, quotes, and scenes serve as sensory archives, the tools of emotional archaeology.


With everything that the average human has to keep track of, the appreciation of life gets lost in the shuffle. Feelings are shut down as unpleasant tasks are grimly attended to. Reacting to beauty reconnects emotions with the moment, and such instants - whether providing pleasant contentment or transcendent joy- are what we are living for.




Art To The Rescue, Part III:


Human existence is filled with bittersweet undulations. Celebrating the upswing is easy; appreciating the growth acquired through struggle requires maturity, acceptance, and perspective. It can be hard to let go of everyday slights, let alone trauma, abuse, and heartbreaking loss; all one can do is try.


But sometimes there truly is no consolation: crushingly sad events occur for no apparent reason, leaving grief-stricken bewilderment in their wake. Making it worse is that sometimes it can seem like even loved ones don't fully understand our pain.


Comfort, however, can come from distant or unexpected places. A sad song may touch you during normal times, but the understanding of it reaches a new pinnacle when you've experienced that pain first-hand. A complete stranger may have written the music, perhaps another one or group of them sang or performed it, yet it resonates with the listener nonetheless.


Indeed there is a universality to our emotional experiences as humans. We realize this, even if one has never been to another country, because we hear it in the music of other cultures, see it in their films, read it in myths, legends, and stories. Art preserves emotion, and so if one suffers and gets no relief from their immediate support group, the well of collective comfort can be drawn from via the creative output of people never met, some long dead.


Works of art provide a vehicle for catharsis and connectivity, which explains the surreal sense of unity at a rock concert, the spontaneous applause that bursts out in a theater after a good movie, or even the bonding laughter a group of friends might experience watching "The Simpsons". The stereotype of the lonely, crazed artist has been with us a long time, but in fact most artists are looking for contact, recognition, and reaction, whether expressed directly to them or experienced privately by the viewer.


In fact, art acts as an antidote for some difficult existential truths. Humans don't always listen to each other very well - people are busy, distracted, resistant to emotion - thus the need to channel feelings elsewhere. Internal kingdoms become more accessible when color, sound, texture, or cadence are on the map.


Though it would be difficult to find someone who enjoys no art (this is including TV, comic strips, etc.), many people conclude sometime early in life that artists "have talent" or special gifts, and that they do not have these ingredients and therefore should not participate. Not giving themselves the chance to develop their own style, or even just play a little, the door gets slammed shut forever.


But even the crudest, most naive work can provide valuable communication. A two minute punk rock song is as valid as the classical concerto if it's written with sincerity and enthusiasm. Any artistic vignette may serve as a backdrop for the mind seeking comfort, a world to identify with, escape to, or release emotional logjams therein. Like a candle it lightens the dark corridor and warms the journey.


Creativity thus reminds us that we're all in this together, our sufferings have similarity, and that what helps one may likely help another. Art is a psychic and cultural sponge, preserving moments, leaving fossils that dance and sing, making beauty out of time.






The End.






.