More than a Luxury

Art is seen by many as a luxury, particularly when the economy is rocky and the future uncertain. However, art has never been a luxury, it has always been a method of communication that crosses time and language barriers. A way of connecting two or more people: the artist, the viewer and sometimes the subject.

It tells stories of great wars and quiet moments. Of leaders and every day people. Of fantasies and reality. Of highs and lows, grief and ecstasy, and everywhere in between.

One of the earliest known pieces of representative art is that of three pigs on a cave wall in Indonesia. Today, at least 45,500 years later, we still view it and recognise it for what it is; the language we speak, the homes we live in and what we do have vastly changed but we still recognise the work as three pigs.

We will never know if the piece was a parent telling a bedtime story, a hunter indicating prey, or someone injured in a cave entertaining themselves. What we do know is the work shows three pigs, and it communicates something to the viewer. If you were confronted with the person who created that image 45,500 years ago, the two of you wouldn’t be able to communicate through spoken or written words however through art (and gestures) you could. A hundred, or a thousand years into the future, people will still recognise the drawing as three pigs, even if pigs no longer exist.

Jump through time and art consistently captures moments and stories: from sharing a meal, harvesting crops or fighting wars. Art protesting leaders. Art sharing moments of grief. Art capturing animals working, hunting or playing.

Art captures moments and shares stories. We know the stories of great leaders such as Julius Cesar and Boudicca through stories and books. We know the story of humble everyday people through paintings, tapestry and carvings. We may not know their names, or lineage, but we know they existed. We know the fashions, the meals the rich ate and the meals eaten by the humble farmer through art.

Art is so much more than a piece of decor for your walls. Art is communication. It is life. It is hope. It is dreams. It is people communicating to one another.

And that, THAT is why it is important to continue to support artists even during tough times. To ensure that history continues to be recorded not just by the powerful but by everyone. To ensure no matter the language of the future, people can still connect and learn from the past. To ensure there is still beauty, hope and dreams.

And most importantly to ensure all this stays in the hands of people not machines and oligarchs.