Pros and Cons Of The Art In Society

Throughout history, people have constantly used their creativity and made productions in various fields for various reasons or needs. One of the productions that arose from this creativity and need is an art that has carried societies forward throughout history and has even been an indispensable passion of the world. In addition, the purpose of art and what it is for has been a controversial topic for societies for years. Despite the art has an important place in all societies, it might also deal with social problems, and art's concern with social problems is both beneficial and harmful, as the art encourages societies to question them, can be provocative, and can be counted as a propaganda tool.

The fact that art contains a message, and it pushes people to question, which is its most basic function, can be of great benefit to the problems of society if it is used correctly and if it directs the society to the right values. The focus of art on social problems makes art and artists more valuable for all societies in terms of increasing the awareness of people, enlightening them, and even reminding them of issues that have not come to light or covered in a way, and encouraging people to find the truth by questioning. For example, in the article ‘’ Learning About Political Art in the Classroom and Community’’ Ulbricht mentions that art should be taught in schools because students' questioning society through art is an important step for contemporary society (2003). Teaching art in schools is also a necessary action to instill in future generations how it should be questioned. In addition, encouraging future generations to question societies through art in schools makes them question not only the present, but also the past and the future, because art does not belong to the present, it dominates both the past, the future, and the present, and it can question them all at the same time. Making future generations question both the past, the future, and the present to create more modern societies is an action that can take society forward in every aspect. Not only students, but arts encouragement to question is also beneficial for people of all ages. For instance, in the article ‘’ Eighty Years Later, the Nazi War Criminals in Guernica Still Matters’’ Tharoor argues that Picasso's depiction of the Nazi attack on the Bash town of Guernica and the destruction of the town decades ago, still allows the event to be commemorated, (2017). With the work that Picasso created, he ensured that a painful event experienced in the past is passed down from generation to generation, that it is not forgotten, and that the pain of those murdered people is now felt by people of all ages. At the same time, Picasso's work of Guernica is the greatest proof that art does not only belong to today and it dominates all periods. His portrayal of the pain experienced by the people of Guernica, along with his art, and the way people think that war is a painful and destructive act is also a testament to the usefulness of art's focus on society's problems.

In addition to the benefit that art brings to society by being interested in social issues, and questioning society and future generations, how it can be questioned can be harmful due to the organization or bad influence of societies. For example, in the article ‘’How We Should Respond to Photographs of Suffering’’ Sentilles mentions that the photos of torture or works with pornographic content in the newspaper can be taken as an example due to the misinterpretation of society and she also argues that people are the main source of the damage that art deals with social issues, (2017). Although remembering the past pains and questioning the past through art is beneficial for the present and the future, because it is impossible to control who will question which work and how will they question, it might be harmful at the same time. People can take any bad action as an example, and especially adolescents can see people known as bad idols. Openly addressing all kinds of community issues can mislead society. Although Ulbricht defends that questioning art in schools, in general, is beneficial for societies, he also worries that the interest of art in social issues may lead to the organization by showing the example that only democrats want the paintings in the neighborhoods' walls, but the other communities do not. When a work of art is created, it should not be forgotten that it was made by a human being, and sometimes artists may not be objective. The artist, who performs his art by approaching any political event from a single side, can draw society to the view he defends and cause organization within the society.

Although art is an instrument of transferring past events to the present and the future, teaching and questioning history, making societies more contemporary and related to social issues, it makes societies have a more modern and prosperous future, due to the inability to control how people individually interpret a content, the art includes harms in its, at the same time as much as all these benefits.

Bibliography:

1. Sentilles, S., (2017), How We Should Respond to Photographs of Suffering, New Yorker Magazine.

2. Tharoor, I., (2017), Eighty Years Later, the Nazi War Criminals in Guernica Still Matters, The Washington Post.

3. Ulbricht, J., (2003), Learning About Political Art in the Classroom and Community, National Art Education Association.