There are many forms of voicing one’s thoughts and expressions. One of the most effective ways of doing it is through arts and culture. As Diana Lee puts it this way, ‘arts and culture do not have a geopolitical boundary. So, it is probably one of the best ways of cultivating understanding between people’. Art is what fills the void of hopelessness, gives a silver lining to those who need it, making this real world a more humane world to live in. Arts and culture are among the most indispensable constituents of society, without which it will crumble down. Hence, these two most significant elements form the beginning of what we call civilization, a globally reckoned civilization!
But what baffles the minds of the majority is, how can one inbuild the essence of arts and culture in their lives? How can we, as a society, function with unity and tolerance to create a peaceful atmosphere which we all have been yearning for years now? And a lot more other uncertainties pop up too. However, to understand the whole ordeal in-depth, we need to comprehend what arts and culture are and how their connotations have been changed as the world aspires towards improvement.
Although these two terms are often interchanged with one another according to the context, in actuality, they are two different notions. Defining art can, however, not be an easy task. And that’s because its explanation is at variance with each contemplating mind. One modern definition is ‘something that is creating with imagination and skill, and that is beautiful. Mark Rothko, an abstract painter, once said, ‘I’m not an abstractionist. I’m not interested in the relationship of color or form or anything else. I’m interested only in expressing basic human emotions: tragedy, ecstasy, doom, and so on’. So, art isn’t just about a portraitist with a brush in his hand and a canvas staying upright in front of him, it isn’t just about the right color combination, and it certainly isn’t about painting something for the sake of just doing it. It goes much deeper than that. It’s about how our raw emotions pour out, how beautifully our thoughts are visible in the portrait. It’s about turning a lifeless blank canvas into a breathing sight to watch, a picture so soothing that it doesn’t leave the soul of one who’s watching it. And this is what art is!
On the other hand, cultural anthropology is an entirely different concept. According to the National park service, ‘Cultural anthropology is how people who share a common cultural system organize and shape the physical and social world around them, and are shaped by those ideas, behaviors, and physical environments.’ Culture plays an imperative role in building our views, beliefs, and perceptions about almost everything that allows this world to function smoothly. Culture is very pervasive. Nearly every man out there practices some type of culture, even though he/she might not belong to a particular religion. Culture points out almost every other thing about a person. Be it clothing, cuisine, folklore, music, language, customs, traditions, and of course, the values we have been ingrained with by our ancestors are all a major portion of culture. It’s about how people with almost no differing views choose to live together where each passing moment feels like a moment of contentment and serenity. Because here, people choose to live with compassion, peace, coherence, and hospitality. This is how culture forms the very foundation of humanity. Where the people have the autonomy of how they want to live their lives and, more importantly, with whom they want to spend it.
But, the real world is far from it. We’ve been living our entire lives in a rush, trying to meet deadlines, running after scientific knowledge so much that we have considered it okay to neglect the beauty of art and the elegance it holds. We have been living with the terms and conditions for so long that we don’t know how some mischievousness feels like, and how it is all right to breathe without worrying about what holds next and just let it be. We don’t know how to gaze at a painting and stand idly trying to figure out what the artist wanted to express, what he wanted to say to us, trying to screech at us. We know none!
In these fast-paced lives, we have forgotten that we have specific cultural values to uphold. We hardly make it to our traditions just because our lives have started revolving around things that make us a living. How to approach people about their problems, hearing them out, lending a helping hand, it all just feels so foreign to us. We don’t eat as much of our cultural cuisine as much as we used to do. Today, it’s all about fast foods. We feel embarrassed to speak in our language, the linguistics we grew up with, the language we were taught about our values, and what is considered virtue and vice. And hence, we are oblivious to the things that matter the most. With art tending to influence society with flickering hues, culture can unite everyone to watch that spectacle, to create a fondness. With art creating vignettes that no one has ever seen, culture allows it to be cherished among others. This is the impact they both generate when they come together.
