There is an interesting quote going around in the social media.
"When Winston Churchill was asked to cut arts funding in favour of the war effort, he simply replied, 'then what are we fighting for?'"
There is no evidence that Churchill ever made this comment. That said, it can be argued that the right to artistic freedom was indeed one of the great victories of the Second World War, and it is a freedom to be cherished.
Adolph Hitler was a frustrated artist, and he took out much of his anger on the abstract artists of his time.
To Hitler and the Nazis, the only legitimate art was that which could serve as propaganda for the ideals of their state.
There was thus no artistic freedom under their regime. Art which drew into question their efforts was seen as "degenerate" and artists who produced it either fled the country or ended up in concentration camps.
In addition, the Nazis had no respect for the legitimate owners of the art that they liked, and stole countless pieces.
Our ability to create is one of the things that distinguishes humans from the rest of the animal kingdom. Art is part of every civilization and it is one of the most beautiful aspects of being human. It is constantly evolving, and is also timeless. We have long realized that art makes us feel good, and science is now confirming the healing qualities of art, emotionally and even physically. Joshua Smyth, a psychologist at the University of Syracuse stated, "By engaging in dance, poetry or music, people are likely to initiate processes that help them manage stress, reduce negative mood states and perhaps change behavior that we know impacts cardiovascular risk and recovery."
Though academics have been criticized for reducing creativity in children, our schools do provide tremendous opportunities. I recently attended a fine arts night at my high school. Being a teacher of primarily academic subjects, I rarely have the opportunity to experience this aspect of my students' personalities. Seeing and hearing their work was a profound experience, and I commend my colleagues who are able to draw such amazing gifts out of these people. It made me recall that one of the greatest joys of being an elementary school teacher many years ago was the ability to enjoy student art displays on a daily basis.
For some reason, many of us no longer engage in the arts once we leave school.
This is certainly to our detriment. There is something re-creative in the recreation of not only admiring, but in actually producing, art. The beautiful thing is that there are as many art forms as there are areas of talent and interest, from painting to dance, from music to literature.
The freedom to express ourselves artistically was won for us by our ancestors.
We are never too old to enjoy the arts, and it is indeed one of the great, and highly beneficial, joys of life.
