By
Shaun Clayton
Arizona Daily Wildcat
In this country, if one happens to mention the word "art," there is a subtle wince from those who hear it. It's the kind of wince people make when they hear something displeasing, such as a detailed, lengthy description of a neighbor's knee surgery.
It's almost as if "art" has become a bad word.
People hear the word "art" and instantly images of coffee houses, sweaty Frenchmen and rich, snobby people swirling wine in one hand and holding a cigarette in the other come to mind.
It's sad, but true in most people's minds.
About the only people who seem to have a positive attitude toward art are those who have received some education in the arts, or are the most unholy of holies, "artists" themselves.
The number of times an "artist" can say they have heard the response, "Ah, that's nice," once they have told someone what they have chosen to do with their lives can be counted on several mainframe computers.
It's even worse if the person isn't an "artist" but an "art student." Whether it be music, theater or what have you, people will try to convince art students that what they are doing is a huge waste of time and they should really steer toward a more lucrative profession, such as automotive mechanics.
Yes, it is true that artists do not, on average, make a lot of money. It is very difficult for anyone to pursue a full-time career in the arts.
However, most artists don't care about the money, as the emotional rewards of creating art far outweigh the monetary ones - and that is what really bothers most people.
The artist's way of thinking puts an emotional value above that of a monetary one, and in this country doing that is tantamount to treason. People say "screw the money," and instantly other people start thinking that person wears a babushka and drinks a lot of vodka.
Now, this is not to say money is a bad thing - it just gets way too much attention. Earning money should not be the ultimate goal of every American. Money is simply a system that was invented to make the trading of goods and services much more efficient, as it is far easier to carry bits of paper and shiny metal than a cow, several wagon wheels and a sheep's stomach of cheese.
Yes, that is all money is. And some things are necessary - food, shelter, transportation - but are a pair of designer shoes, a gigantic TV and a custom-built car from Germany really the catharsis that people need to keep going?
The sad thing is Americans, it seems, are working hard only to acquire these things - these whizzing, shiny, glittering bits of stuff because the conventional wisdom is if they do not have these things, they are not "making it" in this society.
This is why art needs to stop being frowned on and insulted simply because it embraces a philosophy that celebrates the intangible and emotional - a philosophy that cannot be bought no matter how many hours one works filing paperwork or investing in stock portfolios.
Hopefully, with the recent downturn in the stock market, people will have time to reflect on life, and what is important to them. Hopefully, those people will then realize it isn't the material things they should regard as precious, but the immaterial.
America is a young country in relative terms, after all. In a sense, America is a country in its adolescence - a snotty 13-year-old kid, full of energy with no sense of direction. Some day this country might indeed just settle down, get some maturity and start realizing a beautifully played sonata is more valuable than a new pair of Nikes.
