Art Is a Luxury—NOT

I often hear artists talk about how art is a luxury that only wealthy people care about and can afford.

But that’s not true.

Art is not a luxury

Art is not only a necessity for almost everyone, no matter how much money they have; it exerts profound influence on many facets of life.

It appears in all kinds of places. Greeting cards, book covers (and interiors), labels on packages and jars (yes I know I should be calling some of this design, but I’m lumping them together), bedding, furniture, clothing, light fixtures, paint colors, refrigerator magnets, rugs, gardens, calendars, floral arrangements, jewelry, shoes.

It influences real estate development and home prices. The town I live in spends money on public art and although it’s not the only factor, this art is part of the reason property values are higher than in surrounding towns.

Artists and art are a primary catalyst for gentrification. No matter how you feel about that, when artists colonize a neighborhood, higher property values almost always follow.

Art helps us metabolize emotions, especially the tough ones.

Plays, musicals, opera, poetry, books, memoir, paintings and other 2- and 3-dimensional art interpret events, call leaders to task, illuminate injustice, shed light on untold stories that need to be heard. The Greeks say that democracy requires theatre to keep it in line.

Have you ever been to someone’s home, no matter how humble, and been met with blank walls? I thought not.

Because art evokes emotion, it can affect the emotions of large numbers of people in public spaces. Have you ever felt awe or wonder at a large sculpture in a concert hall? Or noticed how certain photographs hung in hospitals calm you? Or how the art in a place of worship makes you feel?

The voice in your head that says art is a luxury is just a protective part that wants to keep you in the safety of invisibility. It’s just trying to keep you out of harm’s way.

But if you listen to it, we won’t get to experience your art.

Your art won’t get to influence the culture the way it’s meant to.

And that would be tragic, indeed.