Benefits of Beauty

Over the last few decades, scientists and psychologists have studied the brain's two hemispheres, and we've learned about something called "right-brain" vs. "left-brain" thinking, and, sub-consciously at least, we've all categorized ourselves one way or the other. If you are good at math and think things through logically, your left-brain dominates. If you are creative and emotional, your right-brain dominates. Left-brain thinkers become scientists and doctors; right-brain thinkers become artists and teachers.

But the Bible says we are all created in the image of God and the very first chapter of God's story of us says He created the universe from nothing. He is obviously creative, so shouldn't we all be? I like to think I'm creative, so of course I would think we all have creativity in us somewhere, and I wrote an earlier post about it.

But this post will support the belief that art is important. Some people think art is a luxury. Anthropologists see art in a society as proof they are moving out of a hand-to-mouth existence. When you're so poor you barely have enough to eat, you don't waste time on art. Because art can't feed you. Because art is extraneous. Because art is a luxury.

I would argue that on some level art is very necessary. My friend Tracy and I were discussing art the other day; I like Monet and she all but cringed. She prefers Cézanne. But whether you prefer Donatello and Michelangelo and Da Vinci (the Renaissance artists, not the Turtles) or impressionists like Monet or cubists like Picasso or post-modern artists like Jackson Pollock, I think we can say one characteristic of art is beauty. In a TED Talk filmed in March 2015, artist Theaster Gates said, “At every level of the human experience, we are looking for the beautiful, something that gives priority to our souls, not just our physical needs." He added, “We drink in nature, we yearn to commune with the beautiful, we crave the sublime, so that’s why the starting point for everything I do is the beautiful, not the practical.” In an age where we are pulled in many different directions and the world seems to be spinning out of control, beauty -- in man-made art or in nature -- renews our souls, encourages our spirits.

Art also allows us to think. Often we want to escape, through books or TV or social media or controlled substances, and while art may at first fit into that category, it in fact is not an escape. When the 2008 downturn was starting its trip downhill, Mary Boone posted on the Huffington Post blog, "I believe that art provides a sensory experience that, on the contrary, can be restorative. Art gives our eyes and mind a chance to rest, to muse, to think. Looking at art, we reconnect with our inner spirit, a spirit that is rich in thoughts, feelings, and dreams, a spirit that can’t be bankrupted, no matter what is happening in the financial markets." Sometimes art can be hard to decipher, but far from being a bad thing, it gets the mind working. Both left-brain and right-brain. Boone continues, "To perhaps be a bit uncomfortable as you learn to decipher how different art works make you feel, but to learn that on the other side of that discomfort lies pleasure - the pleasure of discovering a work that “speaks” to you, or the pleasure that comes from simply gazing at something beautiful."

I want to encourage us to seek out beauty. Take a walk in the park. See the beautiful architecture that abounds in your city. Listen to classical music. Those are all free activities, but if you have time, money, and inclination, go to an art museum and stretch your horizons.

I also want to encourage us to create. In another Huffington Post article, highlighting the physical benefits of art, James Clear says, "In our always-on, always-connected world of television, social media, and on-demand everything, it can be stupidly easy to spend your entire day consuming information and simply responding to all of the inputs that bombard your life. Art offers an outlet and a release from all of that. Take a minute to ignore all of the incoming signals and create an outgoing one instead. Produce something. Express yourself in some way. As long as you contribute rather than consume, anything you do can be a work of art."

Adult coloring has become a hot trend, and that's a place to start. But that's less creating and more like zoning out. But painting clubs have sprung up all over the place, places like Love 4 Art studio in Lehighton, PA, and Spirited Art in Scranton (and many more up an down the east coast). These studios offer the novice the chance to learn a painting technique while creating a simple piece of art. Give it time and similar studios will spring up, like daisies in spring, for textiles and pottery and beading.

Call up some friends and head to the studio. Enjoy the benefits of beauty.