The Necessity of Art for Humans: Positive Influence

"In all history you can see that art has existed, it is even believed that art was the first form or communication and writing. You can see arts in caves and on rocks usually dating to prehistoric times.

As time when on forms of communication grow to different languages and alphabets however one form of communication never disappeared and that was art. When we look at arts we see many genres of art which shows the evolution of art though out time. There were many languages that had died like Mayans that now we are trying to decode this ancient.

Art has been with humanity recording many events and people in the history. Like the first hunts in prehistoric times to Victorian hunting with horses and dogs.

Let’s look at the enlightenment age (1685-1815) European government, philosophy, science and communications were drastically changed during the development of the 18th century as part of a movement stated by its members as the Age of Reason, or simply the Enlightenment. Artists like William Blake (November 28, 1757/August 12, 1827) that live during the enlightenment period, in the late 18th century England, his works were a powerful counterpoint to the enlightenment rationalism; he wanted to redevelop mankind spiritually.

Let’s look at one of his works called the ancient days this watercolour painting was completed in 1794 and now exist in at the British Museum of London as Copy of only 13 in existence worldwide. The others exist in at various libraries, museums, and universities; and each one is unique because Blake painted each piece by hand. Black said that this piece represents the creator of the universe, whom he renamed Urizen (one of the spiritual visions he claimed to have experienced and which began when he was only four years old).

With its exciting colours of rust and gold, and the crowning touch of blue conveys the feeling of spirituality and divinity to the audience and you can see a man who he called Urizen squatted down in what looks like a heavenly circle which could also be interpret as the sun, its light partially covered by the clouds and His left arm holds a pair of compasses and reaching down with them and he seems to be measuring the darkness that surrounds him. William Blake successfully conveyed the feelings of spirituality by the use of colours and composition and reason by the use of the compasses to the audience and that feeling and the massage that he wanted to convey to the audience still exist from 1794 when it was created hand crafted by Blake himself this piece has been so strong that many artist have copied it ever since 1974 as noted in Gilchrist's Life of William Blake, “the design of The Ancient of Days was a singular favorite with Blake and as one it was always a happiness to him to copy”.

The ancient days gives a clear massage by having a define shapes and figures which could possibly shape the audiences way of thinking and behaviour as well. However, in some cases it is said that shaping ones way of thinking is not a good thing like the philosopher Plato. He has an interesting view on the arts. He had a love-hate relationship with the arts, as a young man he studied painting, because he talks about them often, and his statements show that he paid close attention to what he saw and heard; however, he wanted music and paintings strictly censored. The arts, he thought, are influential shapers of personality so to train and protect ideal citizens for an ideal society, the arts must be firmly controlled. Emotional respond to artwork is a very common occurrence. Human being responds to colours and shapes and they can find underline meanings that they want and connect with them. It’s significant to understand the mental effects colours might have on a typical person. Warm Colours are next to each other on the wheel and Warm colours regularly evoke feelings of happiness, positivity and energy each colour evokes emotions for example the colour red, Red can take on a variety of meanings, associated with Passion, aggressiveness, love, anger and danger, but the unifying factor in all senses is a sense of importance. Cool colours are usually comforting and gentle but can also express sadness for example blue, blue induces the feeling of calmness and spirituality as well as security and trust. This colour causes the human body and mind to calm down and relax. Light blues give a more relaxing, friendly feeling. It is no surprise that it’s the most favored of the colors. Dark blues are great for company enterprises because it helps to convey a professional feeling to the target audience, but using too much can create a cold, disconnected feeling as well.

Art can often easily be taken for granted a lot of times; however, it can also lead to all of us becoming much healthier and obtaining an increased amount of brain activity.Biggest benefits come from actually producing art piece in any way that is possible. In a case study done by the University of Westminster, there were two groups of seniors. One group was provided with lessons from an art educator and was tasked with creating pieces that essentially displayed their own personal artistic expression. The other group, meanwhile, was more of a discussion class, in which talks were held in regards to specific sculptures and paintings. Before and after each process, each group had their brains scanned, and out of each group, the one that created art was found to have had the best neural benefit as opposed to the other group.

However, even creating art all by itself not paying attention to any of the colours not having any classes that would prepare you also has mental benefits like painting, sculpting, drawing, and photography, they are relaxing and satisfying hobbies that can lower your anxiety levels and leave you feeling mentally clear and calm. Creating art provides a distraction, giving your brain a break from your usual thoughts. When you get entirely absorbed in a creative work, you may find yourself in what you might call the “the zone” or “flow.” This meditative state focuses your attention and temporarily pushes aside all your doubts and anxiety.

Leonardo da Vinci said, “Painting embraces all the ten functions of the eye; that is to say, darkness, light, body and colour, shape and location, distance and closeness, motion and rest.” So creating art trains your mind to concentrate on details and pay more attention to your surrounding environment and not only that Art Encourages Creative Thinking, Provides a Sense of Accomplishment, Making ,Art Increases your Brain Connectivity and Plasticity(Your brain’s ability to grow connections and change throughout your lifetime is called brain plasticity, or neuroplasticity.), it Increases Empathy, Tolerance, and Feelings of Love, Creating Art Increases Quality of Life for Patients with Dementia.

Art Eases the Burden of Chronic Health Conditions as well. Art lets patients forget about their illness for a while, allowing them to focus on positive things that happen in life. It allows them to keep the self-identity of who they were before they got sick. It helped them express their emotions.

Creating art can be beneficial throughout all stages of life. It can help children be better students and improve quality of life for seniors. It relieves stress, inspires creative thinking, boosts self-confidence, self-worth, self-image and etc., and provides a sense of completion. It can even change the structure of your brain in the way that it functions.