After the controversial debut of Marcel Duchamp’s “Fountain” in 1917, the world began to realize that art could not only be found in a painting or sculpture, but could be made from anything around us. Later, the huge success of pop art led to the development of this topic. In other words, artists have shown us that art is everywhere and we just need to train our eyes to see it and discover the potential in our world.
It’s been a while since art was the preserve of galleries and museums. While these are still major hubs for art lovers, the growth of street art, performance art, land art and many other innovative types of art means that it can really be something we see as we walk down the street, a part of our regular lives.
The world continues to change, and we become more demanding in our desire to bring an art form into normal life. Furniture is carved or molded in unusual and innovative ways, lighting fixtures can become a work of art, while we expect print if not original work on many of the free walls we see on a regular basis, from our homes to our offices to the doctor’s office.
Art rules our minds, it surrounds us from all sides. When going to work, you can listen to a favorite piece of music through your earphones, and you can take inspiration from a billboard, a piece of public art, or even a recent drawing. At lunch, you can visit an exhibition with a friend, or watch an art film in the evening. One day can include exposure to many different types of art – and if you’re aware of that, appreciate it.
Leonardo da Vinci said that there are three types of people: those who see, those who see when they appear, and those who do not see. Contemporary art tries to attract the attention of all these types of people, even the last kind. Sometimes bright and glamorous, but at the same time unexpected, modern art appears in shows we might not have thought of before.
Art is a way to find beauty in the world, and to add a sense of joy to our lives. However, it can also be a way to deal with the problems of existence that have troubled humanity for thousands of years. In a more abstract sense, it can influence the way you live and make your life itself something of recognized value. Somerset Maugham believed that life is an art, and that every person creates a work of art just by living.
This is a powerful thing – in allowing art to become a part of our lives and allowing it to shape our lives, we can live in a world where everything can be art, or inspire art, and where everyone can be an artist in some sense.