You and The Arts: Why Art Matters

By Ruth Silnes

Did you ever wonder?
Why the arts are essential besides the giving of pleasure?
What makes an artist function?
What do the arts all have in common?
Do the arts really help our health, education and economy?
The answers are in this book
YOU AND THE ARTS -- Why Art Matters

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ruth Silnes
• Release date: Oct 22, 2010
• ISBN: 9780983106036

Ruth Silnes

Ninety-six-year-old Ruth Silnes published author and lifelong artist’s new book YOU AND THE ARTS—Why Art Matters, is an overview of all the arts It is for the general public.Ruth Silnes wrote, illustrated Keeping Ahead of Winter and Naptime Secrets. She is offers free art lessons on her blog. She has traveled the circle as an artist, from traditional through impressionism to imaginative cosmic space with ink, paint, and pastel. Now she uses the computer as her art tool. Her work and ambition have set the stage for many artists. The young say, Ruth is an inspiration and they want to grow old like her.Ruth was born in San Francisco and has lived most of her life in the San Francisco Bay Area; she now resides in San Mateo, California actively pursuing her creative endeavors and enjoying her two great grandchildren.Ruth Silnes is a founding member of the Peninsula Art Museum, Silicone Valley Art Museum, and the1870 Art Center, a member of Peninsula Arts Council, the California Writer’s Club, the National Association of Women Writers, Women’s National Book Association, International Toastmasters Club.

Book preview

YOU and THE ARTS

Why Art Matters

Written and Illustrated by

RUTH SILNES

Published by Ruth Silnes at Smashwords

Copyright 2010 Ruth Silnes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Other Books by Ruth Silnes

KEEPING AHEAD OF WINTER - 4100 Nautical Miles Inside America, nonfiction for adults.

NAPTIME SECRETS (pseudonym Grama Gogo,) child’s color book for two to seven- year-olds.

FIRST HALF CENTURY, family memoir

Visit at: http://www.ruthsilnes.com

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CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

1. SIGNIFICANT GIFTS FROM ART

2. VALUE of CULTURE

3. WORKINGS of THE ARTIST’S MIND

4. CREATIVITY

4a. You too can draw

5. BENEFITS of ART for CHILDREN

6. WELL-BEING and THE ARTS

7. SIMILARITIES of THE ARTS

8. APPRECIATION of THE ARTS

9. ART and MATHEMATICS

10. ABSTRACT ARTS

11. ART and TECHNOLOGY

12. ADVANTAGES of ART for SENIORS

13. ENCOURAGE THE ARTS

14. MY LIFE AS AN ARTIST

AFTERWORD

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ADDENDUM

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INTRODUCTION

I am a published author and lifelong artist whose work encompasses many disciplines as painter and illustrator. I have often wondered, as many people do, what is so important about art and why do we need it? My way was to explore the question by writing. Because my findings generated so much interest, what started as an essay has become a book about the power of the arts. By The Arts I mean all the arts; painting, sculpture, music, writing, choreography and architecture.

You and The Arts is an overview that touches on the tremendous importance the arts have on society. It is my hope that it arouses your interest to want to know more about the arts, because they are the basis of civilization.

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CHAPTER 1

SIGNIFICANT GIFTS FROM THE ARTS

The arts are more than a luxury. They have been highly important since the time of the cave dwellers as a means of communication which came long before the written word. Art enhances our humanity as no other activity can. From the beginning of time, visual art, music, and dance have been part of all cultures.

Art is an important tool for our society to educate and prepare an innovative work-force, from parents wanting the best for their children to seniors wanting to do something during their retirement. Art opens doors for understanding, it dispels misconception, it gets us comfortable with the unusual and it entertains. The arts are a healthy activity for its producers, observers, readers, and listeners, like good healthy meals.

The arts can change the state of affairs, they are an important force for economic development. They can be used for propaganda, and are of historical importance. Much of art is nonverbal communication that explains what words cannot. Inspiration for art is everywhere. It is the way we perceive it in our hearts, in the world around us, in the way a horse runs, a cat purrs, and a fire crackles, in the trees of the forest and the roar of the sea. The elegant and the ugly know no bounds. It is up to artists to make visible or audible that which emerges from their inner selves.

Art is the creativity of humans rather than of nature. The animal kingdom spends its time working to survive. Mankind needs more than work to survive; we need the arts to free our souls. Art itself has a soul – it expresses emotions that mean different things to different people and bring hidden thoughts and feelings to the surface, and it validates the human spirit rather than the material aspects of human nature.

It is a mistaken idea that art is only for the elite. It is for everyone. I invited my friends Charles and Clara Brandon to an art show I was having, and their explanation for not coming was that they didn’t think they would be comfortable in that setting. They said it was too elegant, and I couldn’t convince them otherwise. It is too bad if as children they didn’t have the opportunity to visit museums and art shows so they wouldn’t be intimidated by them.

Education in the arts is a valuable expression that broadens students’ understanding and appreciation of the world around them. It unleashes the mind from the conventional box in which one is taught, so that students may see the overall picture more fully. It taps into the imagination that sharpens intuitive understanding which enhances lives.

Music affects energy level, improves memory, controls pain, reduces anxiety and increases motivation. It has the power to influence consciousness. The sound track of a frightening movie, more than the images on the screen, is what causes the skin to prickle. Music is recognized world-wide as a power. Islamic fundamentalists forbid it. Voodooists use it in rituals designed to alter consciousness. The Shaman uses a rhythmic drumbeat to unite the body with the spirit world. A composition with a variety of gongs and percussion instruments was used to arouse warriors before battle in Bali. Highly developed drumming in African religions is capable of producing changes in awareness, including spirit possession, sexual excitement, trance and often loss of consciousness. African art is meant to uphold moral values. It deals with spiritual concerns of the human condition, and it appears in their rituals. Their masks often represent the spirit of ancestors.

Norton Simon, a twentieth century billionaire industrialist and philanthropist based in California, a connoisseur, patron and entrepreneur of the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena which holds his art collection of 25 years said, Art is a communication channel that can take people and open them up in a unique way. Art can help us look not only to ourselves but also make it possible to see others with greater insight and sensitivity.

Art and music education are mandatory in countries that consistently rank among the top in mathematics and science test scores, such as Japan, Hungary and the Netherlands.

Art is produced by free thinkers who reinvigorate education, the environment, and business in their communities. It is a safe way to try out new ways of doing things. It teaches creative thinking skills, and creates something new or adapts new thoughts to old ideas.

The well-being and the health of nations need the arts. A dynamic civilization is adaptable to change. Men and women advance new ideas, technology, and new practices. If culture and diversity are replaced by standardization, militarization often occurs and the civilization disintegrates. Where works of art have been desecrated, countries have declined into poverty and crime.

It is ironic that Germany’s Adolph Hitler, an aspiring painter, entered politics after failing to be accepted by a well