Art is a Tool

Yes, the arts is a tool.

We might not necessarily know (or care) what this tool of ours actually does, but for those of us involved in some way or another, we have a fair inkling that it is good for us and that we like it.

For the most part, I personally don’t think it really matters. I’m lucky, I rehearse with a dance company once a week, play guitar in my one room flat and crochet when I feel inspired to make something. I don’t question why I do it. I don’t have to. I enjoy it and that’s what I like to do. So why the broad statement… art is a tool? Because it is and I believe once we recognise this and acknowledge it, we can move on to something more interesting.

Too many people are reluctant to define what they mean when they talk about the arts. Which I think is a big shame. I was in a rural community where a distinction was made between the “really creative people in town” (the ones responsible for some amazing public art installations) who weren’t really artists because they weren’t into painting. I’ve also spoken to a public servant who was frustrated with the misconception of artists as those “absinthe drinking bohemians”. A teacher described to me the impression of the arts by primary school children as “that whoosy girly thing”. “What about music?” she asked them, which in the Perth original music scene is a male dominated domain. Oh, that’s different.

We don’t need to make judgments on what is good or bad art. We don’t even need to define artistic integrity, just what we mean when we use the word “art”, because this gives you clues to its purpose and the outcomes it might be responsible for.

Art for its own sake will never fall off the agenda. We need it, enjoy it and don’t feel the need to question it. But if art can be utilised for a purpose, if it has an application, use and advantage in other sectors, such as health, development, therapy and varying forms of rehabilitation in all settings from institutions to community, then doesn’t it deserve recognition?