Art and the Connection to the Real World
Art and literature have been mediums used to express our inner thoughts and lived experiences for years. It gives us a platform to speak our voice and tell a personal story to the world. While it is common that different forms of literature to be made up, it is to some extent that the content created comes from personal experience, or even derived from the creators lives or deep thoughts. Us as humans consume these media and feel a sense of comfort by finding something out there that we can relate to, whether it be a song that we can listen to that expressed a heartbreak, a painting that expresses inner emotions, or a novel with characters that are going through the same struggles and frustrations as us.
Musical artists are able express their voice in the form of song, writing lyrics. Though not always literal, music tells a story that resides within them from deep inside their heart. Lorde creates a stunning narrative in her album Melodrama, describing her coming of age and her fear of being alone.
“All the nights spent off our faces
Trying to find these perfect places” (Perfect Places)
In her music, she writes about her struggle with coming to terms with the fact that she’s growing up. Someone who is going through something similar, even if not entirely the same situation, can feel at ease knowing that they aren’t alone with their feelings.
In the form of art, an artist may express their life a little differently; through different colors and visuals, they can create personal imagery that tells a story. Art, for many people, is something very therapeutic, as it’s not a direct way to convey the thoughts and feelings compared to other mediums which put those stories into words. Van Eyck’s, Arnolfini Portrait, on first glance appears to be a mere painting of a man and a pregnant women wearing a green dress. However, the little details within the painting tells a story and can be interpreted in many ways. The painting was actually a legal document to mark their wedding, and the lady was actually not pregnant; Van Eyck was just known for painting ladies with the stomach bump. The painting contains objects and colors that tell a larger story.
Writers would be able to tell a narrative whether it be fiction or non-fiction, quite literally writing about it compared to the former example. In a non-fiction sense, people would be able to write pages upon pages of how they or someone else lived their life. While in a fiction setting, the writer could create their own little world with bits of their own life experiences sprinkled within. The characters can even be inspired by those they have interacted with in real life. There are just so many ways their life can be conveyed in the form of writing.
Art and Literature are mediums that allow us to open up our world to the people around us in a special way. Art brings us life, and it’s told by the people who have lived it.
