Art as a Mirror on the consciousness

Have you ever thought about art being very much a journey, comparable to a long awaited vacation? Art allows oneself to step outside the cares of everyday life, relax and be immersed in the colors and motion of living. Art can put experience into the moment and on the level of basic senses, in other such words, it relaxes many. After hanging a copy of a Ferdinand Victor Eugene Declacroix (1799-1863), French romantic painter on my wall I found myself gazing at it endlessly, and then exclaiming, "I do not know what there is in that painting, but I cannot take my eyes off it." This kind of bewilderment is salutary. It does the viewer good not to be able to explain either to the viewer's self or to others, what the viewer enjoys or loves; it expands people's capacity for experience. Although, it can be said that the majority of all art reflects the actions, emotions and, even the unknown of the consciences of society it depicts through metaphors.

Portrait of Marc Chagall

Bella with white collar, by Marc Chagall, 1917.

The Circus

Art, but paintings mostly helps society listen to it carefully. Paintings are the mirror of a society while art is, and will always be, a reflection of the societal norms and preoccupations from which it springs.

Every civilization and every tradition of culture seem to possess capacities for self-cure and self-correction that go into operation automatically, unbidden. It may be generally said that a painting brings into visual reality, or defines, a given emotional state within a culture or society. This is not a modern thought, but can be seen in some of the oldest existing paintings known. As long ago as 30,000 years, humans created images of their surroundings. Although painted thousands of years ago, the images in caves, such as Lascaux of Chauvet, offer the same sorts of...