Tag Archives: Art

What Is the Purpose of Art? Does It Need One?

What Is Art?

You might be asking yourself, “What is art?” Even that fundamental question is a personal, subjective one. Still, we must attempt to define art before we try to talk about it. Art is a form of expression that uses various mediums to communicate ideas, thoughts, and feelings. That is a necessarily broad definition because art has so few concrete guidelines and can therefore take almost limitless forms. It can be visual, auditory, or performed. It can be static or dynamic. It can be experienced alone or can be something with a social, group, or interactive element.

Examples include:

Visual art: painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, graphic design
Auditory art: music, poetry, sound design
Performed art: theater, dance, circus

A good way to think about art is as a conversation. The artist is expressing something that they want to share with the world, and it’s up to everyone else to interpret the message. For the art to have its intended impact, the artist and audience often need to both exhibit some level of emotional vulnerability, just like a heartfelt conversation. Sometimes these conversations are subject to misunderstandings like any others.

A piece of art might mean something completely different to most of its audience than what the artist intended. This is not inherently good or bad but merely part of the process of art appreciation and, for the artist, artistic growth. Some believe a true artist is one who is always sincere in their work, although subversive art forms like satire and parody can effectively blur those lines.

So, Why Do We Need Art?

There are many reasons why we need and benefit from art, but here are just a few:

Art can be therapeutic: We all experience emotions and feelings, both positive and negative. Art can be a way of expressing these emotions and feelings in a healthy way. It can help us to understand them and deal with them in a productive way.
Art can help us to see things differently: Art is a form of expression, and it has the power to change the way we see things. It can help us to think about issues or topics from a different perspective than what’s normally presented to us in everyday life. For example, art can bring awareness to social justice issues and help us understand why they are important.
Art can be a source of inspiration: We can be inspired by art to do great things. It can motivate us to be creative and to think outside the box.

How Does Art Impact Culture?

Culture is the way that a group of people live and interact with each other. It includes the things that they value and the traditions that they follow. Art is both a reflection of culture and a vital aspect of it. One of art’s most enduring purposes is to communicate cultural values and traditions. In the historical or anthropological view, art also creates a useful record of the aesthetic values of the particular era and culture in which it was created. Art can also help to shape culture by introducing new ideas and perspectives. This feedback loop by which art and culture affect one another, in turn, has essentially been active since the dawn of human civilization.

There are many specific ways, both large and small, that art can impact culture and vice-versa, but here are a few key concepts:

Cultural Values

Art can be used to communicate cultural values. It can be a way of sharing information with others, teaching them about the things that are important to you and your culture.

Cultural Preservation

Art can be used to preserve culture. It can help to keep traditions alive and pass them down from generation to generation.

Introduces Change

Art can be used to shape culture. It can introduce new ideas and perspectives that can change the way people think about their culture.

These components of culture are constantly changing and evolving, and art is a big part of that. It helps to shape the way we think about ourselves and our world, and it’s an important part of our cultural heritage.

Different Opinions on the Purpose of Art

There are many different opinions on the purpose of art, and not everyone agrees on what it is or why we need it. Because there is such a diverse ray of opinions on the purpose of art, it signifies that there is no correct answer. Art is a very personal thing, and everyone experiences it in their own way.

Some purposes people believe art has included:

Source of Inspiration

Some people believe that art is meant to inspire us and motivate us to do great things. When we experience art, it can make us feel something inside that prompts us to think about our own lives and how we want to live them. This influential power can help us to overcome obstacles and achieve our goals.

Source of Entertainment

Some believe that art is meant to entertain us. It’s a way to escape from the everyday stresses of life and relax for a while. Art can be enjoyable and fun, and it can help us to unwind and de-stress. A popular example is theater art, which can take us on a journey to another world while keeping us entertained the entire time.

Source of Information

Some believe that art is meant to educate us and teach us about the world around us. It can be a way of sharing information with others, teaching them about the things that are important to you.

A Window into Other Cultures

Some people believe that art is a way to learn about other cultures. It can be used to introduce us to new ideas and perspectives that we wouldn’t normally experience. Art can help us to understand different cultures better.

Source of Knowledge

Some believe that art is meant to teach us about the world around us and ourselves. It can be a way of sharing information with others, teaching them about the things that are important to you.

Form of Communication

Others believe that art is a form of communication that allows us to express our feelings and emotions. It can be used as a way to communicate with others, even if we don’t share the same language. Art can be a way to express ourselves, and it’s a great way for us to connect with others who have similar interests and experiences.

A Way to Pass Time

Some believe that art is a way for us to pass the time. It can be something to do when we’re bored or don’t have anything else to do. Art does not have to be created for the sake of its audience—or to have an audience at all. There are many different types of art, and each one can be enjoyable in its own way.

A Way to Connect with Others

Some believe that art is a way for us to connect with others. It can be a way for us to share our experiences and ideas with other people, which can help them feel less alone in the world. Art can be a great way for us to connect with others who have similar interests and experiences.

A Source of Beauty

Some believe that art is primarily a source of beauty. It can be something that makes us feel good and reminds us to appreciate the world around us. This can take form in many ways, from a painting to a sculpture, an architectural building, a makeup artist’s work, and just about anything else you can think of and admire.

Even with a long list of various purposes, this is not a complete and exhaustive list. There are many other roles that art can serve in our lives and communities, and everyone has their own opinions on these ideas. The key concept to remember is that art can affect each of us in a multitude of different ways, and anyone can appreciate it for what it is–regardless of what our personal opinion of art’s purpose might be.

What is The Purpose of Art in Web Design?

In the world of web design, art can play several different roles. It can be used to create an attractive and appealing website, to make the website more user-friendly, to help convey the message of the website, or to simply make it more visually appealing. Art can also be used to create a unique and memorable website that helps businesses stand out from the competition.

Prioritizing quality web design can help your site:

Attract More Website Visitors

When you have a well-designed website, it will be more visually appealing to your visitors. This means they are more likely to stick around and explore your site because they can easily find the information they value. If they enjoy what they see, it will encourage them to come back again and again.

Encourage Visitors to Stay Longer

A well-designed website can also encourage visitors to stay longer, which means they are more likely to buy something or make a donation. This will help increase your sales and revenue.

Increase Customer Conversion and Satisfaction

A website with quality design can also help improve the overall experience of using it, which can lead to increased customer satisfaction and generate more revenue. This is an important goal for any business, as satisfied customers are more likely to return in the future and recommend your business to others.

Art Matters

Thinking about the purposes of art can help you decide where to start (or continue!) with your own artistic endeavors. If you’re not sure what you want to try, start by thinking about what matters to you.

What inspires you?

What do you want to say?

How do you want to express yourself?

Once you have a goal in mind, you can work on creating pieces or developing activities that will help you work towards your goals. Art doesn’t need a purpose, but it can help us to find one.

Sources

Mullennix, B. (2022, January 5). The purpose of art: What you need to know. ArtistryFound.com. Retrieved February 20, 2022, from https://artistryfound.com/the-purpose-of-art/
Ishiguro, C., & Okada, T. (2021). How Does Art Viewing Inspires Creativity?. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 55(2), 489-500.
Marsh, S. (2021). The art of culture. Independence, 46(1).
Antiopov, V. N., Minzaripov, R. G., Fazlyyyakhmatov, M. G., Yakushev, R. S., & Zhegallo, A. V. (2019). On the Impact of Visual Information on Religion, Culture and Art. Lecture Notes in Arts and Humanities, 315, 55-58.
Tseng, P. Y., & Lee, S. F. (2019, October). The impact of web visual aesthetics on purchase intention. In 2019 IEEE Eurasia Conference on IOT, Communication and Engineering (ECICE) (pp. 28-31). IEEE.

Jenny Weatherall

CEO, Business Consultant, Researcher and Marketing Strategist

Jenny Weatherall is the co-owner and CEO of Eminent SEO, a design and marketing agency founded in 2009. She has worked in the industry since 2005, when she fell in love with digital marketing… and her now husband and partner, Chris. Together they have 6 children and 3 granddaughters.

Jenny has a passion for learning and sharing what she learns. She has researched, written and published hundreds of articles on a wide variety of topics, including: SEO, design, marketing, ethics, business management, sustainability, inclusion, behavioral health, wellness and work-life balance.

Vol. 117: Art Brings People Together

Art Brings People Together

Design is a part of art. And, art is everywhere. It’s definitely an inextricable aspect of marketing. Consider all the ways a marketer can construct a call to action or design a landing page. The task takes a balance of logic and artistry.

Actually, the medical field is looking to marketing to find ways to make the notion of getting vaccinations more appealing. According to Bloomberg, The Vaccine Demand Observatory is teaming with Facebook to analyze what types of messages resonate. Content related to 100 million people across six countries will be scoured to better understand how to artfully propose the topic and advertise vaccinations.

Marketing goals are often measured in metrics but what wows customers and keeps them committed to brands has to do with the baked-in artistry. Art makes its way into communities as a method of bringing people together. At work, art brings people together due to a mutual appreciation of a picture hanging on the wall, a brainstorming session about a new logo design, or the way in which coworkers are seated around one another.

Even better, you don’t have to be in a room or in the same state as others to mutually appreciate art. In Alabama, a Facebook group shares its appreciation of murals around Alabama by posting pictures, comments, likes, and other signs of appreciation. The Murals of Alabama Facebook Group is at 2,000 members strong and growing, with people joining in from all over the world.

Marketing, like art, makes an impact on people. When it comes to marketing, what is the best approach? Should you rely on hard facts and data, or on the human connection? I think coming up with marketing campaigns is a lot like painting a picture. You start with a blank canvas and have a vision of what you want the outcome to look like. So, you begin using your experience, skill, and resources at hand to create that vision.

Is marketing a science or an art? What do you think?

Learn More

Eminent SEO Art Gallery

Here is work from some of the featured artists that Eminent SEO has partnered with in the past.

Marketing Tips and News

Google

Big Google Search Ranking Algorithm Update On September 24th and 25th? – This is unconfirmed still but it seems like a very big update based on the tracking tools and some of the comments from the community.

Google Page Experience Update Fully Live In Search & Top Stories – Google wrote “The page experience rollout is complete now, including updates to Top Stories mobile carousel. Changes to Google News app have started to rollout as well and will be complete in a week or so.”

Google confirms it changed how it creates titles for search result listings – Google said it is now “making use of text that humans can visually see when they arrive at a web page.”

Google Reports missing data in Search Console – An internal problem caused a data loss in Search and Discover performance from August 23-24.

Social Media

Facebook Has New Ways to Generate Leads & Connect With Customers – Facebook is launching new tools for businesses to help generate more leads and connect with customers on more platforms.

LinkedIn Pages Can Now Publish Long-Form Content – LinkedIn is introducing a new feature called Articles For Pages that will allow companies to publish long-form content.

From the Eminent Team

Join the Creative Impact Team

As community and team, our mission is to use our talents and skills to power the brands and messages that will make the biggest impact.

We need people just like you to help make and share awesome and meaningful content.

Apply to join our creative talent network, connect with other artists and creators to help make an impact and earn for a cause!

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Call us for a free initial consultation
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Team Eminent SEO

Eminent SEO provides strategic SEO campaigns with measurable results along with expert website design, development, pay per click, content and social media and organic website marketing. 800.871.4130.

The Power of Art: How We Can All Benefit

Why Art Matters

When you think about it, art impacts everything. It may influence why you stop to look at a promotional poster. It may draw you towards a certain brochure or pamphlet. You may encounter something that brings you happiness to see it on your wall every day. Art creates a feeling within us, and without art, our lives might as well be like an old black-and-white TV show.

On a more personal level, art can change the way you feel and interact with the world around you. Art relieves stress, encourages creative thinking, and even increases your brain plasticity which in turn helps in other mentally beneficial ways.

Art matters because it is for everyone. There is a misconception that not all can create art. Some feel that they weren’t born with artistic ability. There is an idea that if you can’t create a beautiful painting or a breathtaking sculpture, you don’t have what it takes to be an ideal artist. The truth of the matter is that every single person can create art.

We were all born with a desire to express ourselves. This expression doesn’t need to be boxed into false ideas of what expression is. Art encompasses a wide range of activities; it simply becomes a matter of finding which activity you connect with the best.

The Mental Benefits of Art

Your brain is a muscle that demands exercise. In your day-to-day life, it is easy to fall into a predictable routine that defines your every decision. This repetitiveness can lead to essentially having the same thoughts each day – which can lead to feelings of stress and a lack of real enjoyment from life. It is important to break out of the daily cycles and routines you find yourself in. By introducing art into your life, you can open your mind up to more creative thoughts and unique experiences that break up the mundane.

Art can be a form of distraction, and this distraction can help to alleviate stress in your life. Painting, sculpting, drawing, and even photography are relaxing hobbies that can lower stress and allow you to feel more mentally clear and calm. When you can immerse yourself into an activity, you can then push aside all your worries and focus on the task at hand.

This focus is like meditation. You can let the day-to-day stuff go and simply ground yourself in the art you are creating. This also helps you to concentrate on smaller details and pay more attention to the environment around you. Life is full of stress and demands, that art allows you to let go of, even if it is for just a small period of time.

Whatever art form you choose, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Find what happily distracts you. This can be anything from painting, crafting, or even utilizing an adult coloring book. In fact, adult coloring books are a huge trend right now. They come in a variety of forms, and some are specifically meant to help de-stress your life. Don’t let misconceptions of what art is stop you from finding an activity that allows you to be creative. Grab a colored pencil and stay in the lines, or don’t! That’s the true beauty of art.

Art Improves Creative Thinking

While taking a break from stress in your life is a great mental benefit of art, it also provides a way to think creatively, in a world that may keep you from discovering that side of you. Art enhances problem-solving skills, which can translate well into your more routine activities. It provides the same problem-solving benefits as math would, but the best thing about art is that there is no one correct answer.

Art, in whatever form, encourages you to think about your task at hand and come up with your own unique solutions. Creative thinking or ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking has been shown to stimulate the brain to grow new neurons. This means that by utilizing art, you’ll be improving aspects of your life you may not realize.

When it comes to creative thinking, it is important to realize old misconceptions we once held true. For many of us growing up, we were taught in school that some of us were naturally more right-brained thinkers, and some were naturally more left-brained. In fact, you might even remember having to take a little quiz or complete an activity that would show you which side you leaned towards.

It was believed that right-brained thinkers would be the more creative thinkers, while left-brained thinkers tended to be more analytical. What we now know today, is that both hemispheres of your brain benefit from art.

You can, in fact, be both analytical and creative.

No matter how left-brained you might have once considered yourself, don’t let that hold you back from embracing your creativity.

Art Can Improve Self-Esteem

When it comes to mental health, our self-esteem or feelings of self-worth can be the first to be impacted. Every one of us measures ourselves in some way. We face pressure everywhere – socially, at work, in the classroom, and even just within ourselves. Immersing yourself in art can allow you to let those feelings go. Art allows you to re-embrace what makes you, you, and that can be a great boost to your overall self-esteem.

As a kid, you probably at some point had a work of art proudly displayed on the fridge. Your parents might not have had a clue what the drawing was supposed to be, but they were still proud of your accomplishment, and recognized the boost to your self-esteem placing that work of art on the fridge would have. That boost to your self-esteem still exists, and your art should still be displayed proudly!

That feeling as a kid was largely in part to the neurotransmitters in your brain known as dopamine. This neurotransmitter provides you with that good feeling. Art increases dopamine, which in turn, boosts your drive, your focus, and your concentration. This benefits several areas in your life. Increased dopamine can help you to better plan to achieve your goals versus acting on impulse. New neurons are created from dopamine that help to better prepare your brain for increased learning.

Many different art forms can provide this lasting benefit; it’s all about finding what you enjoy. If you aren’t big into painting or sculpting, more hands-on crafting hobbies may be up your alley. This would include areas such as knitting, crocheting, scrapbooking, woodworking, or other forms of DIY. Any of these activities can help increase dopamine, which will ward off depression, keep your brain active, and allow you that feel-good feeling that you deserve.

Increased Feel-Good Feelings

The boost to your self-esteem through art can really help to change the way you see yourself in the world. Art can also help to increase empathy, and the feeling of love. Art impacts our lives every day, and even simply viewing art can give pleasure, much like the feeling of falling in love.

Whether viewing art or creating it, will increase that feel-good feeling of dopamine. Studies have been conducted that show even a single trip to a museum helped students show an increase in critical thinking skills. They also demonstrated a greater empathy regarding how people lived in the past, as well as led to a greater expression of tolerance towards others that may have different views or lifestyles.

Feeling good about yourself and others is just one of the many benefits achieved by welcoming art into your life. Even if you can’t go to a museum every day, there are many amazing apps that allow you to virtually experience great works of art. You may even browse the works of others through online art galleries.

Benefits of Art for the Brain

Art doesn’t just impact the way you think or feel, it can also improve the way in which your brain functions. Art helps to increase the connectivity and plasticity in the brain. New or complex activities will lead to the creation of new connections between brain cells. Your brain’s plasticity is its ability to grow connections and change connections throughout your lifetime. Art stimulates communication between the different parts of your brain, which can increase psychological and emotional resilience, as well as resistance to stress.

Art also helps dementia patients improve their lives. Art can aid in enhancing cognitive abilities and the capacity to hold onto memories. These benefits have been shown to help those who are dealing with dementia. Dementia is typically associated only with memory loss, but patients also experience other symptoms such agitation, anxiety, depression, and even insomnia. Dementia can take quite a toll, but art can allow that momentary freedom from those symptoms that can be overwhelming at times.

Other Health Benefits of Art

The benefits of art are endless. Not only do they help the brain better function, as well as release those feel-good feelings, but art can also help alleviate the weight of chronic health conditions. Art allows patients to think about something else besides their illness, letting them focus on something productive and positive.

Chronic health conditions can tend to define a person, and art allows that person to remember and hold onto their identity outside of their condition. Art allows for the feeling of achieving something creative, an outlet to express feelings, as well as to reduce stress.

Art benefits all ages, but it has been shown to significantly help children become better students. Science supports the long-standing idea that music and art programs help make better students. Musical training, especially, can help improve performance in math, language, and reading.

These benefits, when established in childhood, can carry into adult life as well. Art lessons help to increase brain plasticity, fuel higher intelligence levels, boost IQ, and help aid in focused attention. Art allows a child a way to express themselves, helping to improve overall behavior and reduce impulsiveness that can be counterproductive in a classroom setting.

Art therapy has proven to help many individuals who are seeking professional help and do best in instances where they can use creativity as an outlet. Art therapy can improve physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Art can help reduce anxiety, depression, addiction, PTSD, chronic pain, and even disorders such as bipolar, dementia, and Alzheimer’s.

The Power of Art

Through art, all things are possible. Art helps shape the world around us and can impact the ways in which we see the world. Art allows you to break away from the mundane and reconnect with your creative side. Opening your creative side can increase your brain plasticity while also bringing you feelings of true happiness and accomplishment.

Art provides a creative focus, it reduces stress, and it boosts self-esteem. Art can give us a better appreciation of the world, and the people around us. The benefits of art are endless and can be attained by anyone. Art comes in a wide range of different forms and finding what you enjoy can make a world of difference. The world needs art. Artists great or small can impact the word around them, both individually as well as part of a team.