Purpose of art

If you are any kind of artist, and I’m pretty sure you are because in a way everyone is, then I’m sure someone on some dreaded day has inquired about the purpose of your art. Uncle’s dreaded “ Ye sab theek hai par karoge kya iska?”. My first thought usually is, “Kuch bhi karu, tumko kya?”. But a saner mind prevails and I end up turning the conversation to “ Job toh abhi koi bhi stable nahi hai” and “Well your party took a big shit on the economy”. After which they’ll start defending their favorite party by questioning how nationalist I am.

Kaafi cute uncle.

Yet, it gets terribly difficult to avoid this question when someone of my own age group asks it. It is worse when I ask this question to myself.

What is the purpose of art?

Now I am tempted to take the “Art doesn’t need purpose, it’s purpose in itself” route. And some people believe that but I know I’m not one of them. So for the sake of honesty, I won’t tell you that art exists without a purpose. Every piece of art does have some kind of purpose. I don’t understand how an artist can make something that doesn’t fulfill any purpose. Even if you think for yourself that “I’ll make a circle and it’ll be meaningless.” The very fact that you’re making art to make an example out of it defeats your argument. Or at least I think it does. Art is subjective so it’s very hard to write objectively about it. All I can present to you is my perspective and hope that it resonates with you.

I’ve been looking for the purpose of art for years now. It’s like a constant itch at the back of my head. Why do you take photographs, why do you write, why do you draw? I usually tell myself that because I enjoy it but creating art isn’t always fun. It takes a toll on you, it takes time and effort and it leaves an aftereffect. You can argue that you do art for this aftereffect, for this feeling of satisfaction you get after you create something new. But creation isn’t all there is to art. I also enjoy experiencing the art others have created. And the feeling of self-satisfaction isn’t always guaranteed. Sometimes the art you’ve created can leave you feeling immensely unsatisfied. Someone always happy and satisfied with their art should get a second opinion for a change. So why do we create art or indulge in art created by others?

I believe that art saves us. Art in any form, from a simple doodle during a boring lecture to a song sung in battlefields, makes existence more bearable. It saves us from the boredom of the classroom and helps us express emotions we can’t articulate. Art helps us cope from a bad breakup, a messed up family situation, loneliness, anxiety, longings of love, and everything else. No matter what you’re going through, art makes it a bit easier to feel. Easier to emote and articulate what you’re feeling. If nothing else, it distracts us from the reality we don’t want to look at. And quite frankly, most of us in the name of being “realistic” have turned into pessimists. If you look at the news and I hope you do, you’ll know that the world is on fire. And if you keep being “real” about it, you’ll end up in a pit of dread and anxiety. All art that exists and ever will exist is a testament to the fact that even in the darkest days, something good exists. Something that makes life more bearable. Maybe this is why songs about grief and sorrow resonate so much with everyone. Because we’ve all experienced grief and we’ve all looked for ways to make it more bearable.

There’s a Berlot Brecht quote that is very common in student protests, especially in Delhi. The quote goes “ In the dark times Will there also be singing? Yes, there will also be singing. About dark times.” And it makes sense, to sing about dark times, in an attempt to rob these unfortunate times of their ability to smother our spirits. Every protest, every fight against authority, needs a symbol, and art provides this. Whether it’s Maya Angelou’s’ “Still I Rise” or Faiz’s “Hum dekhenge”. It creates a sense of reassurance, a sense of faith, that things will eventually be okay. Art also records in its many voices that which gets lost in official records. Songs of people away from home, songs of families waiting for their children to come back. There may not be any quantifiable change in your life because of your indulgence in art. But art helps cultivate empathy. You find some songs more relatable, you want to read some books over and over, you want to keep looking at one particular painting. All of this is because you empathize with that piece of art, it resonates with something you don’t even know you were feeling. Now things can be very different for you. Maybe you listen to songs just as songs, maybe you draw because you need to keep practicing. I mean sure, that can happen. But I’m sure there have been moments when you’ve found yourself lost in a book, or singing along to a song without even realizing. Moments when art ripped you away from your cold reality and made you feel something warm and wholesome. Aristotle thought the same. He believed that art, and more specifically tragedies, served the purpose of catharsis. A way of cleaning up our mind and emotions. Aristotle talks about the paradox of tragedy. Why is it that we spend our hard-earned money on buying books that make us sad or why were the ancient Greeks so obsessed with tragic plays? Aristotle believed that it was important for our growth that we experienced a full range of emotions. So if there have been long periods in our lives when we haven’t experienced a particular emotion, we begin to crave it. Art pieces like a tragic play provide us a safe space to experience these emotions, which in turn, keeps us emotionally healthy. This helps in cultivating empathy. When you witness great loss, even in fiction, it shakes your apathy. It forces you to pause and reconsider. To be more considerate in life.

So, there are moments when art makes you feel complete, for a moment at least.

However, this is how I perceive art. I’m sure there are a thousand ways to look at it. I’m sure some see it as an expression of self, some see it as a celebration of life. There are complex philosophical questions of morality and the nature of art. Which I’m sure are important.

But for me, personally, art is something that makes life easy.

In the end, I hope that someday, we see the value of art not in terms of what it can get us, but how it makes us feel. I hope we listen to new music with a sense of appreciation and curiosity. I hope we look at paintings and try to feel what the artist was feeling. I hope we read books and find ourselves conversing with its author. I hope we give up our apathy. I hope we look at the world with a more empathetic lens, as art teaches us to. I hope we attempt to create art even if we aren’t very good at it. Not because we want to ascribe some value to it or gain something from it, but because of how it makes us feel. 

I’ll leave with this song and hope that you’ll continue to create and share art.