STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) have gotten a lot of hype in the last few years. And, to be fair, I get it. Science is cool. Math is interesting. And they open a lot of doors for us.
But with this uprising of STEM, I've found a lot of other fields are being labeled as less than. In fact, I would argue that any field that doesn't comprise of the STEM fields is being considered less than, but what I especially notice is that the more the field relies on instinct and heart, the more it is mocked by the logical and brain society. Which is fundamentally stupid for a number of reasons, most importantly because all fields require us to both think and feel, (science's big revelation came with Jane Goodall, who named her chimps, and art frequently uses both skills), but also because art contributes something tremendously valuable to society.
It allows us to see what others think and feel, it draws life to the issues facing our society, it shows us light and dark, and it inspires us to make a change in the world. We need art as much as we need science, and thinking otherwise is tremendously small minded. But, because this is a blog and not a political platform, though maybe in future I will use it to point out ethics and human rights issues, here is a list of some amazing or interesting things art has going on.
(1) Art -- in all forms -- fights against Racism, Sexism, and other ism to enlighten, inform, and to create. Some do this through novels, others through comics, art, dance, theater, music, etc. There's no limit.
Try reading something that will make you think differently, and remember how powerful art is.
Examples? The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas, or Kindred, by Octavia Butler.
(2) Art brings awareness and emotion to political issues.
Look to Womankind Magazine for amazing photos or check out this article that talks about a cartoonist who drew and spoke to the homeless and what he found out.
(3) Art (with the notable exception of writing) is universal. While language (which I love, and more on that later) learning allows you to widen the people you can learn from and befriend, art allows you to have that connection without words. You can experience a completely different culture because we all see through images, but the messages we get from those images, aren't always the same. In fact, they rarely are. The same can be said for music, dance, or even theater, if you don't mind doing a little bit of guessing here and there.
You can look at music in four different languages and still understand and be moved by the content.
Italian and English
French
Japanese
Mandarin
(4) Art warms the heart and rejuvenates us, and makes us remember we are alive and not just cogs in a wheel.
For example, like Zen Pencils
(5) And lastly, art, and the making of it, are a sharing of the soul. Of one's dreams, fears, understandings, and agonies, and this truly cannot be replaced.
We are all artists too, as Julia Cameron asserts, and by denying that part of us, we go too close to the dystopia novels (starter guide: read Matched, Bumped, Divergent, and Everless) which we ought to fear -- and yet, there is a reason they have become more and more popular.
In short, and in conclusion, Art humanizes us, and connects us to ourselves and others. This is not something we should ever try and replace.
The STEM fields are WONDERFUL, and this is in no way a slaughter of them, but a reminder of why we need art, and some food for thought for those who, like myself, have too often listened to the general consensus, instead of to their hearts.
Because, without our hearts, what are we but shells? Robots? Or cogs in a wheel?
And you and I both know that there is far more to humanity than that.
~ Emery
No comments:
Post a Comment