Recently, the government have been trying to do things with the education system that messes about with the status of the arts in schools, and subsequently within society as a whole… our education system, after all, forms the society, tells our children what sort of society they belong to, tells them what is of value and what is not.
Artists and art educators know the value of the arts. Our problem is it is a bit wishy washy when it comes to everyone else. Doesn’t art just sit on the top and make everything look pretty? Or in the case of contemporary art to many, not even do that?
This morning I read something, about a piece of art, in a book about art. It is going to be difficult to write about it because it was deeply personal, and very specific. But actually, the specifics don’t matter. It is the effect it had that matters.
I had a question, unformed, about life, the universe, and everything. It swam about in my head, crashing about, making itself felt in areas it had no business to be in. It was making me feel unsettled, uncomfortable, irritable too on occasion. I didn’t know it was a question until this piece of art was encountered.
SMACK! It rattled my brain, made my ears hurt, my eyes sting, brought a lump to my throat, it poked me in the eye with a sharp stick, whacked a baseball bat behind my knees and pushed me to the ground. It put a great big boot on the middle of my chest, made my heart race and shouted “SEE?”
And I did see.
Life without art is impossible.
How can we make them understand?
