Perceiving Reality Through Art

All forms of art contain lies in some manner or another. This is so because humans often only regard their reality as the truth and all other realities as lies. Many refer to art as a reflection of life, while the counterclaim that life reflects art receives equal support. In either case, one of the aspects is “true”, while the other is “a lie”. This is such because the piece that is a reflection of the other is the one that is a lie; if art is reflecting life, and then art is a lie about life, whereas if life is reflecting art, then life is a lie about art. To exemplify this concept, it is easiest to consider a mirror. If I was to stand in front of a mirror, I know I am real thanks to sense perception. However, the image created by the mirror is fake, or a lie because it is constricted to the mirror, it cannot leave the mirror, and only contains two dimensions, unlike that of which it reflects. For this reason, art is a lie. The matter in which art brings us closer to the truth is that art forces us to consider our own lives through different scopes, often causing us to realize something different or new about ourselves.

Often, it is better to reveal the truth through a lie than to reveal the truth alone. For example, parents in the United States as well as some areas of Europe often introduce their children to the concept of gift giving by the lie of Santa Claus. Once the child realizes the truth of giving, which is that the giver benefits ethically from giving based on the receiver benefitting as well, the lie of Santa Claus is unveiled. Thus, a lie teaches an ethical truth to children. In theatre, the lies of the performers benefit both themselves and the audience.

The fine art form of theatre is the most common form of art...

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...ntension in creating the characters in such a way as he does is to provoke thought in the audience. It is his belief that if he displays many of the stereotypes and racism that the audience members agree with or exhibit themselves, then they will hopefully realize how offensive they themselves are when they find similarities between themselves and the characters.

In conclusion, theatre, as is the case with most art, is a lie. However, due to the nature of the art itself, it helps bring both the creator and the audience closer to the truth, whether it is a truth about themselves, others, or their environment. Theatre forces the actor to temporarily substitute their reality for a lie, and the audience to observe the substituted realities, especially if they know the actors. Theatre brings all involved parties closer to the truth of themselves through nonstop lying.