What is the point of art?

Question

Is it worth wasting valuable natural resources on things just because they are aesthetically pleasing? Or should we BAN art and only make useful things?

Answer 1

it gives retards somthing to entertain them

Answer 2

I think that it is a way to express yourself, your emotions and your stories. If you were to ban Art then you should probably ban music and writing too, because they both serve the same purpose in my mind.

Good Question though. you have a point.

xox Jennifer xox

Answer 3

I am with Annie May on this one.

Answer 4

personally I think it's of more value to the artist who gets to express themself! If people find their work beautiful well then that's up to them, but I have serious doubts about some of the things that people consider Beautiful or interesting Art.

Answer 5

why use cars when we can walk?

Answer 6

Art has many functions: one of its most important ones is to train our faculties in non-critical situations.

People who are skilled at looking at paintings are skilled at looking - they will pick up patterns and implications much faster than people who only ever glance at a thing.

An intelligent person uses art the way a parrot uses a cuttlefish bone.

Of course, this leaves you out.

Answer 7

There is more to a diet than bread and water. Same for art and its role in my life...

Answer 8

Well to tell you the truth, if you wanted to ban everything except useful things your world would be really boring. You wouldn't be on the internet, because it'd using up natural resources, they wouldn't make any more books or movies. Your world would decline back to the time when we had no electricity.

Art covers a large area, we have painting, furniture design, domestic design, clothing design, acting is a form of art, music, literature.

Answer 9

Or should we ban stupid people and only nourish useful, intelligent people?

The question is as basic as that.

Answer 10

It's not just a waste of resources on some painting to just look at. It's an expression, or putting a piece of you onto a canvas and setting it out in the world. That's what art is. Sometimes when some people look at a certain piece of art, they can't help but to feel something they can't quite explain. I think that's why it's such a popular, significant thing in life. Not every painting will give you a new input in life, but certain paintings touch different people.  

Answer 11

Art is something different for everyone who engages with it either as a maker or a viewer.

Art is all around us and we construct our good selves as artworks we decide what to present to the world and how - Very few people are totally for real.

We cannot ban art as that would be like  banning our selves.

William Morris said allow nothing in your home that is not beautiful  or useful - It doesn't have to be a struggle between the two.

Maybe you are talking about capitalism's grip on art - Like the idea of Saatchi buying artists as commodities and warehousing all their work - owning and controlling for personal gain?

Thats isn't the fault of art but just greed.

For me the point of art is pleasure and learning and a way into the subconscious-  and i wouldn't like to live in a totally useful society I want to laugh sometimes and be otherwise moved and share experiences with others.

Answer 12

i dont entirely think we are wasting very valuable resources on art.

art is extremely important

its a way of making money

and most important a way of showing expressions and feelings

Answer 13

Good question-its a way of expressing ones self conscious .

What you or I find beautiful could appear to others as a load of shoite.

Each to their own--dont ban art-- we would regress to the Islamic or n**i states , whereby only the powers that be tell you what you should think.

A good example of this is the banning of artists from painting Allah or Mohammed. Punishable by death......out of fear or misguided sentiment?

Its a tough one.

btw Cezanne is a great artist.

Answer 14

it has its uses. aesthetically pleasing brings happiness. we love to be in places with atmospheres that attract us. it creates happiness. it creates a sort of luxury we can be grateful for (we could always have our houses looking like prisons, but would anyone enjoy living there?)

also, from a business point of view, it is extremely useful and not a waste of anything, a resource of the world or a personal quality. some paintings are worth millions.

people create art out of expression. and its not just paintings. you have writing, dance, drama, music etc too. all were created by someone (or a group of people) who didn't nesscarily want money, but wanted to better their skills, to vent in the way they found most enjoyable, and tell us something - express.  of all the money in all of these areas, too, is outstanding.

why would anyone ban any form of art?