a life changing piece of art essay

How does art impact our lives?

Introduction

Art is everything to our society. After all, it has played a key role in human history, serving as a mirror of our communities and their values and ethos. From the prehistoric cave paintings of Serra da Capivara to AI-backed NFTs owned by famous YouTubers like Logan Paul, art has impacted our lives in a myriad of ways. Its ability to evoke emotions, stimulate the mind, and transport us to another world is unmatched.

Whether it’s a masterpiece painting like Mona Lisa , music by Rihanna, or Scorsese film, art has the inherent power to make us feel in a special way, inspire us, and change our perspective. A good work of art can trigger feelings of empathy, anger, joy, or sadness, not to mention encourages us to solve problems and think laterally.

Of course, art is well beyond just a form of self-expression and a source of entertainment. Can truly impact our daily lives in more ways than one. It possesses immense power to become a harbinger of change, shape our communities, and bring people from all walks of life together. Continue reading to find out how art can truly transform your life.

Ways art impacts our lives

Art fosters creativity.

There’s something of beauty about art. It sparks a magical connection that helps you peer into the world of the artist. Of course, art isn’t all about aesthetics; it’s a reflection of our world and the human experience. It’s scientifically proven that art makes us feel great.

More specifically, appreciating art has been shown to elevate our mood, enhance our problem-solving skills, and, more importantly, spark creativity. In fact, staring at good art is almost like falling in love. According to Professor Semir Zeki, our brain reacts to art in the same way it does when we’re in love, releasing dopamine, a feel-good hormone.

When you bring a piece of art into your home, you’re not just adding a pretty decoration to your walls. You’re investing in a visual story, a window into someone else’s life and experience. Every piece of art has a unique story behind it, a mission or intention that inspired the artist to create it and might actually inspire you to think creatively.

Arts boosts our sense of gratitude & appreciation

We all know that life is too short to fail to admire and appreciate the little things in life. Things that make our lives easier and boost our happiness. Thankfully, art has a powerful ability to make us look at life through the lens of gratitude and appreciation. That’s right; well-crafted art makes us thankful and cherishes the finer things in life.

When you view a piece of art, you will feel connected to it and take time to reflect on the positive things in the world. In this respect, art helps us evaluate our life and provide a wonderful escape from the ups and downs of everyday life.

That’s why it pays to take a moment to incorporate art into your life – visit a museum , listen to good music, or head to local theater. So why not gift yourself with the chance to take a break from reality and indulge in the world of art? Trust me, your mind and soul will thank you for it.

Art helps create a stronger connection with our inner selves

You can think of good art as a magical portal that can ship us through a journey of our inner selves. By internalizing an art, it can truly connect you with your emotions, thoughts, and perceptions while giving you a glimpse into your surroundings. You’ll become self-aware from inside out so that you can live a wholesome life.

It doesn’t come as a huge surprise that connecting with art or studying art education can have a tremendous impact on your emotions and feelings. It can help you forge new experiences and enjoy a deeper understanding of your innermost self. If done well, it can wake up your basest feelings and reinvigorate your mind, soul, and body.

Even artists love to produce new art as a means of discovering and connecting with their inner core. They can constantly learn about themselves and their abilities through creating and appreciating art. But this benefit isn’t limited to artists.

Viewers and artists alike can appreciate art created by others as it introduces them to new thoughts, experiences, and ideals. When you appreciate art, you can deepen your understanding of what you stand for and what you care about. That’s the true beauty of art.

More crucially, by appreciating and connecting with art, you gain a better sense of purpose and direction in your life. Well, let’s face it, who doesn’t want to be happier and healthier as individuals? So go ahead, immerse yourself in the magical world of art, and see how it transforms your life.

Art can boost your concentration

Performance art , most notably music and dance, can do wonders for your concentration. Musically is nothing short of a superpower. Not only can it get us up and dancing like no one’s business, but it can also help us push our alertness to the next level. A growing body of studies has shown that music can improve your focus and even make you more aware of your space. So, if you’re struggling to stay on task, it might be time to line up your playlist.

The physical benefits of music are even more impressive. You know that music can help you boogie and break a sweat. Music, therefore, helps you exercise your coordination and perk up your physical health. What’s more, according to recent research, music seems to give people literally goosebumps the spine-tingling effect that can improve your health and well-being.

As with exercise or love, your brain tends to release a rush of dopamine (the happy-feel neurochemical) when you listen to good music. It’s no wonder music, as an art, has been a part and parcel of our human culture since time immemorial.

Art can enhance your social skills

Art is not all about pretty paintings and colors. It can also teach you some impressive social skills, the most crucial of which is how to associate and work with others. This can be incredibly useful whether you’re at work, in school, or collaborating on a huge project. The same can be said of producing large-scale or community-wide art.

For example, when you’re working on a mural , you might be keen on incorporating only cool hues, but your colleagues may set their heat on a different color palette. Rather than just sticking to your own ideas, it’s crucial to get input from others. That’s how producing and appreciating art can bring you closer to your friends, colleagues, and loved ones. Art education can produce the same effect, often leading to better, sharper, and more amicable social skills.

Art provides unbiased social & cultural commentary

First, art serves as a gauge for the sophistication of a culture. We have learned about cultural achievements throughout the history of humanity from the cultural artifacts that have been left behind. Numerous of these artifacts have permanently altered the planet.

Think about the building of Stonehenge, the Parthenon in ancient Greece, the Statue of Liberty, the Colosseum in ancient Rome, the Blue Mosque, the Gothic cathedrals, and even the Taj Mahal. Each of these famous buildings is also a work of art that conveys significant messages about the period, location, and context in which it was built.

Art not only offers commentary on broader cultural issues but also improves the quality of life. Even though more practical objects and locations aren’t typically thought of as “art,” they do add to the aesthetic experience.

Reflect on the iPhone, Call of Duty: Black Ops, royal processions, Versace furniture, the Fort Worth Water Gardens, Ducati motorcycles, Land Rovers, the Sagrada Familia by Gaudi, Calvin Klein, Calatrava bridges, sunglasses, uniforms worn by the military, Star Wars, and the covers of Rolling Stone magazine.

Now, take away any component based on creativity, art, or design, and what’s left are piles of things that call for human imagination and visual processing.

Art is beneficial for brain health & wellbeing

The beneficial effects of art on mental health are well known. The improvement of reasoning and memory has been linked to creative activity. Painting or drawing can significantly improve memory in people with Alzheimer’s or dementia, claims Dr. Arnold Bresky, an expert in art therapy for these patients. According to Dr. Bresky, creativity can strengthen the connections between the left and right hemispheres of the brain.

Art can do wonders for your mental health

According to research, making art can help people who are experiencing depressive or anxious symptoms. It has been demonstrated that participating in creative pursuits lowers cortisol levels, a hormone linked to stress. Because of this, art therapy is frequently combined with conventional talk therapy or medication, producing positive results. People can express their emotions and feelings in ways through art that may be challenging to do so through words alone.

Art drives our history

It is in our nature to express ourselves via the arts. Art has long served as a crucial instrument for documenting human history, from prehistoric sketches to modern creations. We may learn more about societal ideals and the development of culture by studying art from various eras.

Furthermore, by examining historical aesthetic trends, we can spot reoccurring ways of thinking. To secure a better future, it is essential that we learn from the past. We may learn and grow in particular ways through the medium of art, which gives us a certain kind of knowledge.

Art improves the ambiance & mood of a business or work setting

Art doesn’t just belong to museums, private collections, and galleries. In fact, studies show that having art on display in the workplace may considerably improve employee morale. According to a research, 94% of respondents said that artwork enhanced the overall environment of their workstation.

Also, according to 84% of respondents, the existence of artwork showed that businesses cared about the well-being of their employees. The presence of art is equally important for establishments that welcome clients since it not only sends a statement about the business but also sets the mood emotionally.

Art can shape politics

It has long been acknowledged that art serves purposes beyond just aesthetic appeal. It has been used as a satirical and activist tool, boosting the voices of underrepresented groups and criticizing people in positions of authority. Famous artists like Banksy and Marina Abramović utilize their artwork to express various themes and make social criticism.

Sadly, when a concept is viewed as politically sensitive, it may be branded as “obscene” and judged undesirable. This may result in the work being censored or, in extreme cases, it may be appropriated by the government and used as propaganda.

Art facilitates communication – It helps break language & cultural barriers

Particularly in a society where linguistic differences can lead to conflict, art serves as a global means of communication. The emotional connection that art fosters transcends words, whether you’re appreciating a work of art, watching a movie, or listening to music.

It is a common experience that unites individuals and promotes a greater feeling of empathy and comprehension. In this manner, art has the ability to contribute to a more hospitable and inclusive environment.

Art promotes empathy

Empathy is the capacity to understand and experience another person’s feelings that are well beyond you. The ability of art to increase empathy in people is still up for debate. Current studies indicate that it could, in fact, have an advantageous effect.

A few years ago, the Minneapolis Institute of Art opened the first Center for Empathy and the Visual Arts in the world with the aim of examining how visual arts may foster empathy. Even if we do not yet fully understand the process underlying art’s capacity to arouse empathy, the connection is sufficiently compelling to call for additional study.

There you have it – the myriad of ways art impacts our lives.

Research & study

Collecting art
Selling art
Art handling
Art terms & definitions
Appraising art

Arts on the Brain

Emory undergrads experience & explore!

How does art affect us?

It’s no secret that art can impact lots of people’s lives in very meaningful and deep ways. “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” can attest to this much at the very least. Whether you think art is paint on a canvas or scenes from the nature that surrounds you, what we as a society deem art has an impact on us all.

Art is actually part of what historians deem necessary for a group of people to be considered a society! Art, along with writing, cities, government, religion, and social structure, is the very basis of life as we as humans have known it for millennia. So, it shouldn’t be surprising that art has both a mental and physical effect on the human being.

To begin, music can have a significant effect on concentration. A lot of research has gone into its ability to help people hone their concentration, and theories such as the Mozart effect suggest that this effect extends to even spatial awareness. Physically, dancing is something that most people universally feel compelled to do when hearing a catchy beat. However, there is a physical effect besides dancing that not everyone feels: goosebumps. Studies suggest that 50% of all people experience this phenomena (Salimpoor, Benovoy, Larcher, Dagher, Zatorre, 2011), and is a result of excitement from music. It was found that dopamine production was very high while participants were listening to music, and this could suggest why music has been such a large part of cultures across the ages.

Visual art can produce a lot of the same effects that music does. General feelings of happiness and calmness can be found and utilized via art therapy. Many people use these benefits of art to quell distress and solve problems in their own lives, and part of this effect is suggested to be caused by being involved in something tangible (Malchiodi, 2012). Tangibility is something that isn’t often seen when dealing with mental issues. Most all of our mental issues stem from the chemicals within us that dictate how we view situations and the reactions we have in regards to them, and while it may be possible to visualize how these chemicals work, you cannot mold your reactions and chemical outputs like you can mold a block of clay or paint a piece of canvas. Control is something that many who are struggling with internal battles such as mental illness or grief are desiring to achieve, and art therapy and other physical-emotional therapies can help achieve a more tangible version of this.

The picture I’ve included displays the ventral striatum, which has also been shown to be activated and produce dopamine when shown art via a study at Emory (Eastman, 2011). When shown a photograph versus an artistic rendition of the subject, participants were seen to have much more activity in the ventral striatum while looking at the art. This part of your brain is very close to the midbrain and plays a role in the decision making vs reward system. So, looking at art may actually be a reward from our brain’s point of view!

Overall, art is an essential part of the human experience. Even if it doesn’t play a big role in someone’s personal life, art shapes the world around us and almost everything we experience when we interact with others. Art impacts what’s on the T.V. when you turn it on, it impacts what you see in textbooks on ancient civilizations (be it cave paintings, classical works, or folk art), it impacts what comes on on your radio and what reaches the tops of the charts on your streaming services. Art impacts us all, whether it makes you sad, happy, or anywhere in between.

Eastman Q. 2011 Jan 6. Viewing Art Activates Brain’s Reward Circuits.

Malchiodi CA. 2012. Handbook of Art Therapy, Second Edition.

Salimpoor VN, Benovoy M, Larcher K, Dagher A, Zatorre RJ. 2011. Anatomically distinct dopamine release during anticipation and experience of peak emotion to music. Nature Neuroscience 14:257–262.

3 Comments Add yours

I love the subject of you blog post! I find it fascinating that humain beings are related by art. You do not need to speak the same language as the artist to understand his work. However, it is very personal at the same time since everyone has their own interpretation of what they see. It is also true art can become very useful for our everyday life, with Art Therapy for example. We can see the emotional impact it can have on humain beings.

Katie, fascinating ideas! I totally agree with what you explained about how art has a significant impact on our lives even if many of us don’t think about it usually. Art, as a way of expression,. should be taken more seriously as it is inseparable from our daily life. We can see art almost everywhere around us and in almost everything we do. I liked how you introduce and literate the ideas on that. I am inspired in many ways!

I really like your post. The concept and definition of art is very broad and obscure, but it is also what makes it so interesting. Ranging from visual, to auditory, to a combo of both, or even though, art can mean a lot of things, yet they are hoping to communicate a message or feeling through the works. I think what is important, like what you mentioned in the end, is to realize the essential role of all forms of arts in our lives and appreciation the impacts they bring.