The Role of Art

“Art’s not a luxury—it’s actually sustenance. We need it.”--Ethan Hawke

As someone on a creative journey, I’m often pondering the question, “Why?” It can seem frivolous: wanting to craft a living creating ‘art.’ Especially in America, where there’s so much emphasis on building a safe, logical, and financially stable career. And even more so in rural America, where so few make a living solely in creative fields. The thought is always, “Don’t study or pursue that creative passion. Get skills, degrees, or certifications that are marketable and can land you a decent job. And then maybe have an artistic hobby.” 

There’s some obvious merit to that line of thinking. We’re a nation buried in debt, and safety and security are at the base of our ‘Hierarchy of Needs.’ But as Jim Carrey famously said in a 2014 commencement address, “So many of us choose our path out of fear disguised as practicality. What we really want seems impossibly out of reach and ridiculous to expect, so we never dare to ask the universe for it. I’m saying that I am the proof that you can ask the universe for it.”

Why pursue something so unpredictable and where it can be so hard to scrape out a decent living? There’s nothing wrong with prioritizing stability, but what is a life without creative expression?

What is the human experience without music, painting, dance, stories, film, or poetry? What is the world without Chuck Berry, Monet, Lola Flores, Walt Witman, Scorcese, or Mary Oliver?

What is the world without art and those who choose to pursue it? 

---

The innate human drive to create something unique is within all of us. For many, it emerges more overtly in personal style or home decoration but can come out subtly in the garden or an auto body shop. Whatever the activity we engage in, there seems to be a human need to add a personal pleasing creative touch. 

I’ve recently learned that creative expression can come forth in surprising places, even within the confines of a religious community. My first time attending the Old Apostolic Church, I received a ten-page pamphlet that lays out the history and beliefs of their faith. The section entitled, ‘Our Daily Life,’ talks about how they want to “live a life that is simple and modest, whether it be our dress, our home, or our way of life…We don’t want to follow the latest fashions, use makeup, wear jewelry, or decorate our homes with unnecessary ornaments.”