The importance of art

I was very kindly asked a couple of weeks ago to contribute a guest posting to Anne Fallas’ blogspot on the importance of art:-

The Importance of Art?…. Hmm

A friend posted something on facebook about art this week:-

‘When times are hard, art is a luxury’…discuss….I found out later that this was in the context of art lessons being cut from the school curriculum due to financial constraints .

I replied that art is indeed a luxury and added that it is one available to us all. That ruffled a few feathers at first, I think, from one or two who considered it essential. Personally I don’t put it up there with being healthy, having clean water and a safe environment. I’ve had a life in art and I might add a very lucky one, but I don’t think anybody is going to die without art. Let’s not be precious about it – it all washes away in the sea of time.

All that might sound that I don’t care about art, but I obviously do or I wouldn’t have been doing it all my life. So what was my point?

Art is a luxury… it is a beautiful, probably uniquely human and fabulously therapeutic activity. It is a luxurious way of spending your time when you are not simply surviving. It is one of the greatest luxuries, and it is completely free.

Art does not belong to privileged people. There is no good and bad art. Art is yours. Art is love.

Please pop over to Anne’s site where you will find RadioRay’s article on the Importance of Music and further fascinating articles from guest contributors alongside Anne’s own writings

….Anne Fallas’ Blogspot

You might notice a familiar cover design:-

The Earth Changes for Anne Fallas

The Earth Changes ….A review by Maddy Harland Editor of Permaculture Magazine…

“This is a very rare animal, an eco-novel written well. Set in France at time when the Earth’s climate is unravelling, it tells the story of a group of people who are struggling to make sense of their lives, build a small, self-sufficient community and prepare for a post-technological world. Rather than being gloomy, it treats the exploration of a new way of living with optimism and joy. Encoded in the tale are metaphors about human and planetary evolution that would be familiar to students of esoteric psychology. The novel works. I read it cover to cover and enjoyed its style and structure and I didn’t find it obvious or preachy. Worth seeking out.” Maddy Harland, Editor, Permaculture Magazine