Art as Communication
Elisabeth Puruto
For the sake of simplicity
masculine personal pronouns only are used. This is in no way meant as prejudice
towards female artists.
Artists
are communicators. There are very few artists who want to keep the products of
their creative minds and hands to themselves. They may prefer to work in a
solitary environment because it furthers concentration and development of
thoughts and ideas but when the painting, the sculpture, the wall hanging or
the story has been finished it needs to be shared with others in order to
convey the message or messages embedded in it.
Consider visual arts. Have you ever thought about the variety of
expressions possible? The art galleries and museums of the world are filled
with millions of paintings, sculptures and other expressions of visual
communication. And yet – are there ever two items exactly the same? Even by the
same artist? How amazingly varied are the expressions in visual art!
In almost all instances the artist wants to convey a
particular thought, an idea, a feeling to those who will be seeing his work.
Not all who look at a painting perceive what the artist wanted to express, and
a psychologist may say that the artist himself does not always know what he
wants to say through his work. Symbols, colour combinations and shapes can
arise out of our subconscious and take on visible dimensions. Even if the
viewer knows nothing about the artist he cannot escape the overall mood of a
painting. Bright colours lift the spirit, dark ones convey a somber feeling or
even depression but these impressions can be influenced by adjacent colours and
shapes, by juxtaposition of light and dark or the use of complimentary colours.
Shapes alone can convey a restful feeling or rapid
movement even though the lines on the canvas are frozen in space and time. And when I look at a sculpture I want to
touch it, I want to experience that third dimension of communication – its depth.
I remember an exhibition of
works by the Swiss sculptor Hans Arp, who, similar to Henry Moore,
but on a smaller scale produced beautifully rounded, smooth, shiny forms and
figures. A sign in the museum forbade touching the exhibits but like a child, I
was drawn to touch them to make my enjoyment of these masterful shapes complete.
When we see a two-dimensional work of art we may be
content to feast our eyes on it but a three-dimensional work asks to be
explored in all the dimensions in which it was perceived. Its form, its
solidity as well as its surface texture.
In this way the observer somehow responds to the
artist’s choice of subject by answering his invitation to communicate.
Art can also communicate a powerful healing effect on
the viewer, who may be calmed by looking at a relaxing scene, rejuvenated by
viewing a lively dance of happy children in a meadow, or consoled by a picture
of the prodigal son being received by his father. But often, though not always,
the greater healing occurs in the artist himself when releasing sorrow, pain,
hurt, fear or other stressful emotions into a creative outlet. The result is
not always a disturbing or sorrowful work of art. I know from my own experience
that in times of great difficulties the simple act of creating something with
my hands brought back joy and self-esteem. First, there was the meditative
influence of perceiving in my mind a piece of art, then the concentration in
making it and finally communicating the finished work to others by showing it
to them and receiving a positive reply.
Many people discovered their hitherto hidden talent for creative work
during times of distress.
Working in the mission field with mentally and
physically handicapped children in Bangkok
I saw to my amazement how not only language barriers but also basic
communication barriers were overcome by allowing these children to use paper
and colour pencils. Not all were equally ‘talented’ but they all came out of
their shell and definitely wanted to share what they had created. Their
self-esteem rose and they began to smile and respond.
As in verbal communication, so visual art requires
honesty by the ‘sender’ and “receiver’, the artist and the viewer, to establish
successful communication, otherwise the artist creates ‘hollow’ images that do
not touch the soul of the viewer. The artist has to give a part of himself into
his creation that is also the reason why hand-crafted items are valued higher
than similar mass produced things, even when the latter are more ‘perfect’.
That’s why
paintings by numbers and tracings are no more than exercise pieces.
The artist has to think, and sometimes agonize, over his work like a writer
over a poem or a novel; the technique may become easier in time but the content
always demands honest expression.
The viewer, too, needs to be honest, allowing the work
of art to touch what it wants to touch – or walk away. It is perfectly
legitimate to walk away from an artistic expression, like from any other
communication, if we feel insulted or if we really do not understand the
language of it but it would be dishonest to pretend overwhelming interest and
arousal of feelings when there is none.
Communication is a two-way process in visual art as well
as in a spoken or written way.
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