I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone bash artists for choosing a hobby as a career. Now joking is one thing, I do it myself, but there have been completely serious comments made by many of my own (non-art) professors, telling us that being an art major is a waste of time. Now for the time being I'm going to ignore the financial aspects to this argument and focus on one that I think goes relatively unacknowledged. The reason people bash the arts is because they don't understand just how much art is a part of their day to day life.
Art isn't just a painting in a museum, or a sculpture in a hotel lobby. It is literally everywhere. It affects you constantly. Do you own clothes? I'm going to assume the answer is yes. Where do you think they came from? I can assure you that though they may have been constructed by machines, they were not thought up by them. Those clothes you own were all designed by people. And those people were all more than likely discouraged from becoming designers. They were told time and time again not to pursue an art career. Okay, maybe you don't care much about clothes, how about the furniture in your house? That was all designed by people too, people who again, were probably told not to go into that field. Do you like movies? TV shows? What's your favorite one? Well it doesn't matter because regardless of if you watch Game of Thrones or Modern Family, without artists, that show wouldn't exist. Costume design, set design, script writing, those are all done by artists. Look around you. Literally everything has some element of design to it. The label on your bottle of coke. The design on your shower curtains. Even the way your tea kettle looks. These were not just flippant choices made by the manufacturers. These were all carefully created by artists.
Do you know what the world would look like without art? I can tell you, it wouldn't look good. If everything was created purely for function, we'd have a pretty crummy time of it. We might as well just wear Star Trek onesies, because who needs form when you can just have function? Every font you see is Helvetica. Every. Single. One. Because again, it's the most functional, why have anything else? The design on your couch, rug, guitar strap, lampshade, even your napkins... those wouldn't exist. It would all just be blank. And all those things that you live for? The things that you do with friends, that help you relax after a long day? Movies, plays, TV shows, books, video games, music... hope you can learn to do without. Are you seeing what I'm getting at here? Art and design, it's literally everywhere.
So you might be wondering what the point of that little rant was. Sure art is everywhere and we need it, but that still doesn't mean that having a career in art is actually a good idea, the market is totally risky. And you're right, the field isn't easy, but it's important. And keep in mind I'm not trying to undermine any of the non-creative fields. We obviously need engineers, accountants, lawyers, doctors, etc. But here's the deal. Those folks are what keep us alive, but it's the artists that make us want to live. You can't have one without the other, so please, let's stop treating that other half like shit. If you have kids or know someone who is creatively talented, don't discourage them from the arts. Support them. Because they are important. And support the art around you. The field wouldn't be so damn hard to get a job in if people valued the arts a little more. Go to your local museum, visit art shows. In fact, why spend money on decorations for your home at Target when you can have a one of a kind piece that was hand made? Yes, you might spend a little less at Target, but remember, you get what you pay for. And for gods sake, don't let your schools cut their art programs! I can't reiterate this enough! I was lucky enough to attend schools that had great art programs, but when I was in college I met kids who had never even had an art program in their high schools. That's absurd.
Unless you want to live in some horrid art-less dystopia where everyone miserably attends work then goes home in their box-cars to sit on their dull gray furniture and stare at a blank wall then you better damn appreciate the arts. Okay maybe I was a little dramatic there but seriously, this shits important. Here, go find some art and appreciate it. :]
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