The death of art and how to save it

News from the art world is something youd probably expect from a pretentious uncle or crusty old
intellectual; art is a thing for the rich and elite, for oxford graduates and middle aged scholars, isnt it?
Even the name high culture suggests its something above the social class of most of us. But class
distinctions do not need to prevent us from enjoying art many deem outside of our jurisdiction. As a
child I was dragged around countless art galleries by my father, a prolific pseudointellectual and radio
four listener. He had delusions of grandeur, I did not. Then why is it that opera and high culture hold
a special place in my heart? Because, believe it or not, art has no class distinctions.

High culture, theatre in particular, has apparently been dying out for years, and if not dying out
becoming obsolete. Most in the working class would deem it irrelevant, yet it clings to relevance still,
because no matter how much the working class try to claim its just a way for those who can afford it
to pass time, art remains, to a degree, infinite. That and humanity never really changes. I dont think
any issue, and any piece of art, is more relevant in the current climate than Picassos Guernica and the
startling possibility of war. War, and its effects, are indiscriminate.

Regardless of social class, only the heartless are not affected by the images in the media, frightened
mothers clutching their frightened children, refugees, war orphans, the drowned dead laid on familiar
shores. The 1937 painting by Picasso is almost eerie in the pure fear and panic it depicts. Perhaps the
most haunting image in the vast, jumbled picture that is meant to represent the hysteria of war, is the
easily missed despair of a mother clutching onto the body of dead infant. How can such a mirror lose
relevance? Whether rich or poor, educated or not, coming to terms with life through art holds a legacy
that predates the written word that is as prevalent in the modern world as it was a hundred, a thousand,
or ten thousand years ago.

Trying to define the line between high culture and popular culture is not an easy task as one might
think, Im inclined to believe this is because the divide does not really exist outside of our reluctance
to accept it, schoolboys do not want to be seen enjoying opera just as your gran probably does not
wish to be discovered listening to gangster rap. But art is art, be it ballet or beatboxing, no matter who
the audience the purpose of art (whatever you believe that to be) remains the same. For me the
purpose of art is the navigation of life through beautiful means, to make the difficult and otherwise
unpalatable bearable enough for our souls to accept it, just as Keats said Beauty is truth, truth beauty,
that is all Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. We, as humans, can simply not accept things
that are too ugly. But the beautiful neednt always be joyful, just as Shakespeares most beautiful and
enduring passages are often ones of loss and melancholy, themes that speak to most of us on a much
more profound level than happiness ever could. And even with technological advancements life is
none the less hard. Comfort can still be found in art.

Art has wormed its way into a lot of popular culture, through adaptation and more light-hearted
references and quips. Whether you know about nineteenth century American poetry or not the chances
are you are familiar with Edgar Allan Poes the raven, and you dont have to be a connoisseur or
renaissance art to have heard of Da Vinci. But despite this if you ask most people about their favourite
poem there will be a long hesitation, if they have an answer at all. Most people are traumatized as
early as primary school attempting to throttle the meaning out of poetry but only managing to throttle
all the joy out of reading them. If poetry is dying it is not because it is dying but because we are
killing it. But it takes very little to enjoy poetry, or any art for that matter. It only takes a moment to
look at a painting or read a poem; you can listen to music as you wash the dishes or tidy the sitting
room. And, in times of great sorrow or grief, softly spoken despair might just offer comfort that would
be hard found otherwise. When you need an hour or so of time to gather your thoughts art galleries
are usually beautifully silent, the perfect place to think. Art appreciation neednt be strenuous or
pretentious like it was in high school, it doesnt need to be an active choice at all. Be it literature,
paintings, poetry, dance or music there is some form of art that appeals to all of us. Its as easy as
realizing that the music that already cheers you up is art, or seeing how something youve seen or read
is mirrored in modern life. It would be a shame for art to die when it isnt hard at all to save it.