Linsky 1

Tyler Linsky

Dr. Holt

English 12

3 May 2024

The Variability of Art

The question, “why do we make art” will always be answered differently by everybody.

It brings up the creative ability and capacity of humanity as a whole. Over the course of time,

this purpose has shifted as well; from political messages to emotional vessels to simply just

spectacles of the senses, art has had many purposes and meanings. For instance, in ancient

civilizations such as Egypt, Mesopotamia, and Greece, art served a dual purpose, fulfilling both

aesthetic and functional roles. And in societies like Renaissance Italy, visual art emerged as a

potent tool for political propaganda, with powerful rulers commissioning grandiose paintings and

sculptures to assert dominance. But visual art such as paintings and sculptures are not the only

things that can be defined as “art”. Art is defined, again, by its own subjective nature. There is no

one collection of words or phrases that can accurately describe how human society views what

“art” is. It has transcended mediums and forms of interaction. While there are things like visual

art and paintings, there is also music, poetry, dance, film, literature, and many more. What all of

these have in common is simply that they are viewed to be art, not by a definition, but by the

purpose and intention of the artist. Throughout human history, however, these different forms of

art have not always shared the same purpose and meaning to the “viewer”. Depending on the

form, the art may elicit different emotional and contextual meaning to both the observer and the

artist.
 Linsky 2

One of the most popular representations of art is in a visual form, such as mediums of

paint and sculpture. Over history, works like these have typically been used to demonstrate

political opinion and propaganda, express emotion in an abstract form, cast an impression on

reality or history, or serve a religious purpose. The piece “Napoleon Crossing the Alps,” by

Jacques-Louis David, is a prime example of one that reflects an aspect of history while

simultaneously creating a fictitious environment for the sake of propaganda. It depicts Napoleon

on his steed, supposedly leading a cavalry through the Alps. While he did command an army, the

content of the painting is fictitious in nature, and does not depict “true” events. Paintings are not

the only form of visual art, however. From 1501 to 1504, Michelangelo sculpted David, a

biblical figure. The form that Michelangelo chose to give to David imposes masculinity and

power, yet softness and restraint. The medium of a marble sculpture allowed him to work with

not only the shape and structure of the figure, but scale and dimension as well, which is not

something that he would be able to do using a medium such as paint.

Although it may not be as straightforward as a painting or sculpture, auditory stimulation

is one of the most ancient and widely practiced methods of observing art. Music has been made

and listened to since the beginning of humanity, and has evolved with technology and culture.

Music can be created alongside current events, either in retaliation or support. The song

“Hurricane,” by Bob Dylan, was written in response to the conviction and imprisonment of boxer

Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. It describes acts of racism and prejudice that led to the conviction. In

addition to just lyrics, however, music is able to use the dimension of dynamics, controlling the

volume of the audio. The piece, “In the Hall of the Mountain King,” by Edvard Grieg was

written for the final sequence in the play Peer Gynt. The song gradually increases its volume and

tempo throughout, which raises the tension and intensity felt by a listener. These dimensions are
 Linsky 3

somewhat unique to the art form of music, and are able to impact the meaning of a piece of art in

a unique way. Another form of auditory art is spoken literature and poetry. What separates this

from other literature or poetic texts is that they are made to be spoken out loud to an audience.

An example of this is in the poem, "The Hill We Climb," by Amanda Gorman. This poem was

written for and spoken at the inauguration ceremony of President Joe Biden in January 2021. It

spoke out against acts of racism that were currently heavily prevalent. Although the poem

originated in a written format, it was meant to be spoken out loud before a specific audience. By

having it be in an auditory form, Gorman was able to alter the tone and volume of the poem to

represent both her emotions and the feelings that she wanted to convey towards the audience, the

American people.

While some literature is put to music, film, or spoken out loud, some is meant to be read.

This allows the reader to use their own creativity to imagine any visuals that might be described.

Although literature and poetry is only observed by one method, it allows for a large range of

artistic choices to affect how the content affects the observer. The book, The Long Way Down,

by Jason Reynolds, uses unique sentence structure to enhance the context of the story. The story

follows a young man dealing with his past as he takes an elevator ride down from his apartment.

The spacing of the words on the page immerses the reader in the story by contextualizing it to the

passage of time and depth down in the elevator. The content is organized into separate poetry-

esque phrases, in order to make the reader focus more directly on the diction and emotional

weight of each line.

Even though these separate art forms differ in technique, form, and sometimes their

methods of observation, they are often combined to both complement and enhance the other. The

idea of a music video combines music and film to create a single piece of art. Sometimes the
 Linsky 4

music is written for the visual, and sometimes the video is created based on inspiration from the

song. Music is commonly paired with a visual counterpart, film or otherwise. The ballet, Swan

Lake, by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is the telling of a story through the lens of both dance and

music working together. As there is no dialogue, all context of the story is taken from the dance,

with the music enhancing the emotional weight of the story and helping to build and release

tension. This is an example of an instance where the music can be listened to by itself and still

elicit the same feeling in the observer, while the dance aspect does not hold the same meaning

when viewed alone. Just because the content of a story is told through one aspect of a

performance does not mean that it is the whole picture.

The transition of content from one form to another is a representation of how different

interpretations affect how it is observed and the feelings gotten from it. The novel, Do Robots

Dream of Electric Sheep, by Philip K. Dick, has themes of empathy and the human need for

status despite unforgiving circumstances. The story is told through the lens of android animals

and people adapted into human society. This book was adapted into the film, Blade Runner,

directed by Ridley Scott, which uses the same lens and story elements, but has different themes

and tones. Blade Runner elicits feelings of self-acceptance and how to deal with irrational love.

Even though these two stories are based on the same material, they are observed in very different

ways and have very different meanings.

Art can be created in many different forms, and observed through many different

methods. All serve their own purpose, and are done deliberately at the intent of the artist. The

fact that art has become so variable as history has moved forward shows how artists have

realized the need for these separate forms to intentionally change the meaning and emotions
 Linsky 5

gathered from their art. As time continues to pass, and the times keep changing, art will change

with it, and the forms used to tell stories through it will change as necessary as well.