Unlike any other creature on Earth, humans of the unique ability to express their feelings through art, and because of this art has become and intrinsic part of human society. Art is a rather broad term encompassing a vast category of creations ranging in meaning and form. One might raise the question however: What is the purpose of art? Answers to this question may stretch from an expression of creativity to an outlet for emotions. Others may offer a far more interesting answer. They may state that art is a tool; a tool capable of shaping the world, this being done by going against the status quo and challenging societies social norms and folkways. Art could potentially take on the form of a resistance to a set of beliefs or an entire establishment itself. Whether this is effective or not is subjected to debate. History shows however that art is most definitely an effective means of rebelling against society’s discriminatory ideals. The examples of such are almost never ending. Art is so effective in causing change due to its fast ability to spread ideas, it can draw many different interpretations, and it bands people under a common mantra.
In the fast paced technological world of today, 1simple ideas and entire manifestos can be sent in a fraction of a second across the world. Before the invention of the Internet the spreading of ideas was mainly done through spoken word and written word. The written word, which is in itself, is art was and continues to be a major method to bring about change. Great thinkers like W.E.B DuBois published their ideas as a way to describe their thoughts and feelings about contemporary issues and how they would solve the problems. DuBois main objective was to appeal to disenfranchised African Americ...
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...s of many is a trait not many things in this world have. It acts as the banner of which many can rally behind in order to change a harmful and hateful ideology. It goes back to our primordial roots. Art is a human concept and creation that goes backs hundreds of thousands of years. In that time it has done nothing but influence and drive civilization.
Works Cited
DuBois, WEB. "The Souls of Black Folk." Cultural Conversation. N.p.: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 130-46. Print.
"The 50th Anniversary Of The Peace Symbol." CBSNews. CBS Interactive, 23 Mar. 2008. Web. 26 Mar. 2014.
Garvey, Marcus. "Motive of the NAACP Exposed." Cultural Conversation. N.p.: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 153-54. Print.
"Our Mission." NAACP. NAACP, n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
Walker, Alice. In Search of Our Mother's Garden. Cultural Conversation. N.p.: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2001. 163-71. Print.
It is art fulfilling its role in society. It is art that brings the moral issues. It is art that makes us human.
Du Bois, W.E.B. “The Souls of Black Folk.” The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Nina Baym. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2007. Print.
Du Bois, W.E.B. "Of Our Spiritual Strivings." The Souls of Black Folk. New York: Gramercy, 1994. 1-15. Print.
If I were to ask you what is art, and how can one find it? What would you say? Well if it were me being asked those question, I would simply say that art to me is a form of a picture; a visual painting or model of some design and it could be found all among us. You may define it differently only because art could be defined in many ways. I could simply say that art to me is a form of a picture; a visual painting or model of some design. Well according to an article written by Shelley Esaak, an art history expert she mentioned that art has a way of stimulating different parts of our brains to make us laugh or incite us to riot, with a whole gamut of emotions in between. She also mentioned that art gives us a way to be creative and express ourselves. [1]
Rucker, W. C., The River Flows On: Black Resistance, Culture, and Identity Formation in Early America. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2006.
Dubois, W. E. B. ""The Soul of Black Folk"." The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Volume C. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2007. 894-910.
Walker, Alice. (1974). “In Search of Our Mothers’ Gardens.” Ways of Reading. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, pp. 694-701.
Du Bois, W. E. Burghardt. The Souls of Black Folk. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co.1903. Print.
Weinberger, Stephen. "The Birth of a Nation and the Making of the NAACP." Journal of American Studies 45.01 (2011) 77-93. Web.
Boser, Ulrich. "The Black Man's Burden." U.S. News & World Report 133.8 (2002): 50. Academic
B., Du Bois W. E. The Souls of Black Folk: Essays and Sketches. New York: Dodd, Mead, 1979. University of Virginia Library. 4 Oct. 2008. Web. 23 Feb. 2014. 37.
B., Du Bois W. E. The Souls of Black Folk. Ed. David W. Blight and Robert Gooding-Williams. Boston: Bedford, 1997. Print.
Du Bois, W.E.B. "Chapter 1: Of Our Spiritual Strivings." The Souls of Black Folk. New York: New American Library, 1969. 1-3. Print.
Throughout the ages art has played a crucial role in life. Art is universal and because art is everywhere, we experience it on a daily basis. From the houses we live in (architecture) to the movies we see (theatre) to the books that we read (literature). Even in ancient culture art has played a crucial role. In prehistoric times cave dwellers drew on the wall of caves to record history. In biblical times paintings recorded the life and death of Christ. Throughout time art has recorded history. Most art is created for a specific reason or purpose, it has a way of expressing ideas and beliefs, and it can record the experiences of all people.
Art is everywhere whether one likes it or not, and can be appreciated in the smallest of ways. It’s absolutely necessary for the growth of a society and its people. It’s mainly used for businesses today to either raise people’s opinions of their company or sell a product. For example if you go to the marketplace and you pick up a gallon of milk the first thing you may see on that gallon is a picture of a cow or the same milk being poured into a glass in a way that captures the eye and makes you think “wow that looks great!” This is the most common use for visual art today and often makes people “miss the point” of what it truly means (Why Art Matters, 1). Advertisement is one of the biggest fields in then visual arts and shapes the way we see a product as well as the choices we make on such judgment. This is where the illusion comes in making the visual arts, a potentially harmful thing. The illusion of it comes from what’s true and what’s made up or “altered truth”. A company could make their product seem way better than it really is essentially tricking people into buying it. One example is when you go to a fast food restaurant and you see signs of perfect looking sandwiches when in reality they don’t look like that. Most people don’t see any illusion but when they do it’s hard for them to see the other side of things, the ones that aren’t “stretching the truth”. People today tend to see that kind of advertisement as normal. In fact, it kind of helps with things like morale by making things seem much more worth it and just all around nicer. So there for the arts are the very “soul” of a successful business.