01 November 2009

response to fay's blog: 10-29-09

When I see movies like Pleasantville or read the book The Giver I feel that that doesn't even come close to where we would be without art. Obviously it would be a less interesting world without art but the way in which our mind works, how much more advanced would we be to monkeys?
Is art the all defining aspect that truely sets us apart from all other species.


I agree that art is one aspect that sets us apart as a species, if not the aspect. I think that we would still be advanced, but we’d be boring.
When you think about it, a day without art is definitely bleak, if not depressing. Words that come to mind are mundane, humdrum, boring.
If you really think about how an artless life would be, it’s surprising to realize how much art affects your daily life.
You use the alarm on your cell phone to wake up, but it’s not your favorite song awakening you, it’s a dull tone, since music doesn’t exist.
Your clothes would be boring and unoriginal. Your favorite heels don’t exist, and that shirt that you love wouldn’t exist either, since there aren’t any fashion designers to help you dress uniquely. You’d probably be better off dressing like a monk.
If you turn on the TV to maybe watch a show before class, it won’t be funny, dramatic, or anything remotely entertaining since acting and comedy don’t exist. It’d probably be talk, which without the added music and entertaining features of news, it too would be dull.
Even food would be boring without the culinary arts to influence taste and presentation. (yes, even worse than aramark.)
I think the objects around us would be boring as well. Your house wouldn’t be unique, your car would be stock and boring, your furniture dull and uninteresting, and probably uncomfortable.
This also leads me to believe that color wouldn’t exist, or if it did, it might not mean the same thing. Art electrifies color and makes it special, therefore I feel like grey would be the norm.
This artless life seems a lot worse than Pleasantville was. I feel like Pleasantville was a lot more forgiving than an artless world.
Each little aspect of your day is affected by the arts. It would be impossible to live without it without developing mental disorders.
One question I have off of this question is one that I couldn’t answer myself. Would language exist? Some people think of language as an art we humans formed. With a life devoid of art, would language have developed?

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