How Effective is Art in Communication?

Title: How Effective is Art in Communication? 

Date: 12 March 2011
Category: Outside of Class

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            My friend Emilio Wibisono, a senior at Jakarta International School recently showed me his essay in which he explored the idea of art as a way of taking a part of reality and manipulating it so that the focus is on something unexpected. Thus the artists’ intention is to direct us to something that we would not have noticed if we were living our daily lives. In his essay, he asks whether art then expresses a truth or a lie based on reality. Art is a way of expression for the artists. It is a way for them to communicate their ideas about the world and how they view society. Thus, I believe it is neither truth nor a lie. I believe that art is solely an opinion, not a fact. Sure, art may be based on a fact, but the art itself is an interpretation of this fact, not fact itself. Art does not have to be limited to paintings, drawings and other forms of visual art. It can also include literature, dramas, dance and music etc. I think literature and dramas are types of art that explain the artist’s views and opinions about something whereas visual art, dance and music focus more on the emotion that is aroused by the artist due to a certain topic.

            However, does art necessarily need to be based on a fact or can it be imaginary? Is our imagination based on reality and altered or is it completely random? How do we define what is “completely random”? Is it possible to know if our imagination is purely random and not related to any form of concrete information in any way, since it seems impossible to know all things about the world? If a professor wanted to explain his new observation that he has sufficient evidence about (enough that it could be considered as fact by the majority of the people) through art, is it possible? Would people understand what he is trying to portray? Can art be interpreted in one way or does it always depend on how it is viewed by the audience? Is art then an efficient way of communicating one’s ideas?