Art & The Power of Community

WORDS JOSH RODRIGUEZ DESIGN ROBERT BROCK

Community is something that we all strive for, because as humans we are social animals. We seek validation from others, whether it be from family friends, or the masses. No matter who you are, you have needed a community at some point in your life. Community is probably the most beneficial tool we, as students, obtain from school. Within the confines of our class we learn how to talk to one another on a professional level and we forge friendships that’ll potentially last a lifetime. We learn to critique artwork and we callus our emotions to prepare ourselves for the trials and tribulations of the real world.

Within recent times forging this community has been rough–even in a school scenario. This brings up the question: what are the other ways to find a community? A question so many of us have probably struggled with. These communities–like pretty much anything–can be found through the internet. The greatest contribution the internet has made by far is bringing us together, and as artists this is something that we can’t put a price tag on. These communities can be found through many ways, as the internet has infinite ways of communicating with one another. Through the likes of sharing their process and their experiences, people like Ian Paget of Logo Geek, Mark Des Cotes of Resourceful Designer, and James Martin and his band of Merry Instagram Followers have built communities that designers, such as myself, have grown to rely on.

These Designers share their experiences with clients through business ventures, their creative process, and even how they present their final works to clients. Though these are but a few communities out there, they have allowed many designers following in their footsteps to join together and combat the plagues that every artist endures at some point: lack of motivation, depression, and imposter syndrome. Thus giving us creatives a much needed reprieve from feeling alone–like so many of us do.

Igot up and pushed the heavy quilt off my bed and onto the floor. I’ll pick that up later, I was too tired to deal with that. Immediately, my thoughts went to caffeine; yes, I need that. I went into the kitchen, started the hot water in the kettle. I rummaged around the cupboards for my favorite tea. A box fell on me because I’m short and nearsighted, and forgot to put my glasses on. I sigh and trudge back to my room, grab my glasses and by the time I was back in the kitchen, the water was boiling. With tea in my favorite mug, I was then ready to face the day—and by this point I have already seen multiple instances of art without even thinking about it.

“art is everywhere apparently, but why should I care?” every box in your home has someone behind it too. The glasses I wear have roses engraved on the frames, my mug was carefully crafted with an elegant handle in contrast to its cheesy slogan. Even the shape of the kettle, the cupboard handles, and the tap I retrieved water from had a designer involved in making them walk the line between elegant and functional.

You know how hearing your favorite song can uplift your mood and totally change your day? Visual art can do the same. A direct correlation has been found between viewing art and an increase of dopamine . In fact, according to Professor Semir Zeki, a neuroscientist who specializes in the visual brain and its related affective states, looking at art stimulates the same place in your brain as the one that is activated when you fall in love. Love, I think we could all agree, is a very nice feeling.

Not only does art help to make people happier, but it also allows for effective communication and processing. Back to the tea box from earlier, I mentioned I’m near-sighted right? Well, I was still able to distinguish it from the other boxes by the coloration and shapes on the packaging in comparison to the rest of them, without even having to read the words.

You know the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words”? If I had discovered this morning that we were out of my favorite tea, but couldn’t remember the brand name and I wanted to send my sister to grab some more for me, I would still be able to describe the box. The bottom is light gray, and the top is black with a blue band separating it from the bottom. There is a slightly darker gray tea pot with steam on the bottom left corner. The brand and tea type is on the black part of the box. Did you conjure up an image in your mind? Okay now, if I dug the old box out of the recycling

“A direct correlation has been found between viewing art and an increase of dopamine” one else trying to describe it, allows for a bit of catharsis and the realization that no one is as alone in their emotions as they think they are. There are billions of different emotions people have all bundled up inside themselves, but there are also endless ways to interpret art - there is always something out there for someone. It allows someone to process and chew on their own thoughts and feelings in a way that is outside of themselves for a little while. It eases the burden of figuring out how to communicate overwhelming feelings if you can point at something and say that is how I feel.

On the average day, humans are surrounded by an abundance of creativity. When I knocked the quilt off of my bed, I didn’t mention the fact that it was patterned. Someone had very carefully plotted and chose the precise arrangements of color and textures to create a visually appealing blanket. Don’t have an artsy blanket? No worries, every single box I displaced on my quest to get Earl Grey had a designer behind it, and

“doodads and things” and saw that the tea I wanted was Bigelow Earl Grey, and simply texted her a picture, that would be a different story entirely. Images are able to accurately convey information in an effective way. In this case, it was a brand of tea, but sometimes it’s a bit more complex than that.

Photographs are all filtered through a human lens. If a human touches the camera, then their thoughts and feelings are going to come through, even if they are trying to be subjective. Photos are snapshots into what is important to someone who happens to be holding a camera. There’s a certain human element involved in the moment of taking a photograph that some people are going to intrinsically relate to. The same goes for paintings, and songs. Whatever it is, it can allow people to process their own feelings because relating to someone else’s art can help us understand our own emotions. There has been a lot of art made through the years, and many things you may not consider to be artistic are included. This means that the amount of things designed by people who are passionate about creation is astronomical. Oftentimes with passion comes the secondary emotions that simultaneously drive the work. Being able to see that emotion, as opposed to having an author or some-

“Breath of Nature”

It is about sending a picture text instead of describing the tea box.

Art is everywhere. It is in the socks I’m wearing and the mug I’m holding and even the keynoard I’m typing on. It makes us unique, and so very human all at once. Art is in my cabinets and in the grocery store aisles and in the pot holding the succulent that I forgot to water. Art is in the blanket, still sitting on the floor. I’m going to go pick up that blanket now, and fold it neatly before putting it back on my bed. I’m going to look at that pattern that another human painstakingly crafted, and I’m going to think about art.

I hope the next time you fold a blanket or pick up a mug, you think about the art too.