Since the beginning of time, art has been a common link across cultures. It has always united people and helped us understand each other a little better. Where words fail, pictures speak volumes. Sharing art across cultures has always been a way to show friendship and goodwill. The Statue of Liberty was a copper sculpture of a Roman Goddess, dedicated by France to the United States of America. It has always been a way to share your culture with other people.
One can see the impact of art in the way it shapes public opinion. Everyone talks about war and what it does to those on the battlefield, but one hardly feels the impact until one actually sees the pictures of the destruction and what it does to people. During World War 2, artists used to create art as a means to express what they were seeing in the world around them, in an attempt for self-preservation and an expression of self. While the battle itself shows the glories of a nation and ignites a feeling of pride, the destruction caused makes one sympathise.
History of a nation, a culture, is preserved as much in form of visual arts as it is in texts if not more. There are Ajanta cave paintings in India and there is Egyptian pictography inside pyramids which tells us the story of how things were back in the day. Even now, people represent their views and opinions by art. It is a method of self-representation and can communicate with everyone because art is a language that everyone understands and can interpret easily.
It as Bruce Ployer, Northeastern University’s campus curator, says, “These works are about the importance of having a voice, and this is a message that resonates deeply with anyone who has encountered adversity of any kind”, when asked about the exhibit of “Cuban-Uncensored” in the university campus.
Art and culture are ways of bringing people together, creating harmony among people, and truly connecting with one another. When you get to know about something and you understand it, you learn to live with it. Art and culture helps us create tolerance towards each other, but more than that, it creates acceptance.
Anushka Singh
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