What Does Art Do?

By Heather Roan

What does art do? Such a question is easy to ask, but difficult to answer. It is a question that lingers on murals and sparks debate over statues. It inspires the museum guide and infuriates the uncertain spectator. Like any question, it elicits some polarized responses such as “Art does nothing!” and “Art is the meaning of life!” However, such extreme opinions rarely encompass the complexity of the question, so where does that leave us?

In their book entitled Art as Therapy Alain de Botton and John Armstrong use language to understand the question of “what does art do?” by breaking it down into two smaller questions:

How does art function in our lives? And
How do we evaluate art?

Though each piece affects individuals differently, de Botton and Armstrong answer the first question by defining the seven primary functions of art:

Remembering- It helps us hold on to the details of life
Hope- It reminds us of the good in life
Sorrow- It reminds us that sorrow is normal and dignified
Rebalancing- It helps us reimagine our best selves
Self-Understanding- It compensates for the failures of language
Growth- It exposes us to new ideas
Appreciation- It helps us see life through a lens of gratitude over comparison

With an understanding of the ways art functions in our lives, we can begin to understand how we in turn evaluate art, leading us closer to the answer of what art “does.” De Botton and Armstrong introduce four categories of evaluation:

Technique- What is “new and improved” about the work compared to others?
Historical- What does this piece tell us about the past?
Political- How accurately does this art represent humanity’s values through time?
Shock value- How does this art upset the status quo?

But instead of simply accepting these four categories as all-inclusive, they introduce a fifth category, a therapeutic evaluation of art, which leads the rest of their research. In other words, how well does art “cater to our inner needs?”

So, what does art “do?” It does many things, but most importantly, it does what you need it to do. If you seek to explore, it offers you a new path forward. If you seek validation, it confirms your deepest emotions. If you seek entertainment, it puts on a show. Just as language flexes and folds, so too does art; just as the pen is a sword, the canvas is a map.