Sculpted Communication: Art

The Art of Communication

Till death, we do art.

Art is an abstract word for everything in which lies beauty, everything that seeks to send a message and make a person feel something. I believe communication to be a form of art. Communication through art can be verbal or non-verbal. Writing, speaking, dancing, painting, screening, acting, etc. are some forms of art as well as communication. We can also put it this way: every art form seeks to communicate. But what makes anything fall in the category of “art”? Is it the viewer, or the creator? The sender or the receiver? I think it is the synergy of communication between the art, the artist, and the viewer.

Perception of Communication.

Communication in pictorial or visual forms happens by empirical observation through preexisting knowledge. Hence, can differ from person to person as every individual possesses different experiences, knowledge, and intelligence.

For example, if I give a group of people a picture of a dog, what one might perceive from that picture might be completely different from what other people would. Someone might get reminded of their own dog, someone might think the dog is asking for food, or perhaps the dog looks sad to someone. The possibilities are limitless.

Yet, these perceptions over a certain topic have rounded corners. Meaning, that although they’re different, they still remain interrelated and share a common consensus.

The root of the word communication in Latin is communicare, which means to share or create common. But it has two types. Common meaning, which requires understanding and sharing meaning. And creative meaning, which requires the production or creation of meaning.

Another great example of the perception of communication differing among individuals is a personality test given by two psychologists, Morgan and Murray. It is called the Thematic Apperception Test. In this test, a set of black and white picture cards is shown one by one. The subject is asked to tell a story describing the situation presented in this picture. What led up to the situation, what is happening at the moment, what will happen in the future, and what the characters are feeling and thinking? Clearly, every subject gives a different response.

Many singers these days write vague lyrics in their songs, leaving them open for the listener’s interpretation as extreme specificity in the songs prevents others from relating to them. The more people are able to relate, the more enticed they are toward any art form. This type of communication births a special bond between the signaler and the receiver. As figures of reflection or diversion, they accomplish more than just pointing or guiding.

Creative misunderstandings?

After all of this, one question that lingers in your mind is, then what about any misunderstanding of context or misconception about the artist’s views or thoughts? Well, according to the history of reception, creative misunderstanding does not simply occur, but given certain historical circumstances, it is both a deliberate and a necessary attitude as it makes the artist grow and better themselves.

This kind of interpersonal communication has been dominant in this world for centuries. Art has always been a profound source of communication, rendering directly from deeply situated feelings.

Contradicting thoughts and opinions is what gives birth to communication. You need to be open-minded to other people’s ideas.

An extract from the book “The Work of Art and its Beholder: the methodology of Aesthetic and Reception” by Wolfgang Kemp says, “As a beholder, he has a specific gender, presence, and history. Yet the same conditions also hold true for the work of art.” which concludes that any form of communication has a desire to observed and related to. The author also says and I quote, “In the same way that the beholder approaches the work of art, the work of art approaches him. What the beholder will find first is a contemplating figure on the other side of the divide.” which means that art can be anything you want it to be. For art will only be called “art” once you give a meaning to it, or else it may remain mere blotches of paint or integration of words.

But the theatrical production of communication goes on regardless of clashes and perceptions so let me end mine with a question. If you had the opportunity to make a meaningful contribution, what would the content be?

REFERENCES

• Kemp, W. (1998). The work of art and its beholder. The methodology of the aesthetics of reception.
• White, R. (2006). Creative misunderstandings and new understandings. The William and Mary Quarterly, 63(1), 9–14.