The Necessity Of Art

I've probably mentioned this before, but I think it bears repeating: one of the few things my career and experience of life in general has convinced me of is that the need to produce some kind of art (or craft, for that matter - the labels don't matter) is utterly fundamental to our nature. And we deny it at our peril (just to sound properly apocalyptic.) The problem is that so much conspires to convince us that we need to be good at what we do in order to do it. Nonsense. We just need to enjoy it. If we do it a lot we'll probably get better at it, but it really doesn't matter if we don't.

The whole point of this is to please ourselves. If we happen to please others on the way, as is likely to happen to some degree, even if it's just our rather partial loved ones, then all well and good. I was certainly deeply chuffed at the little art exhibition yesterday and I suspect that most of the kids who'd created something had a fine old time doing it. It would be nice if one or two of them went on to become professional artists of some sort, or turned out to be major geniuses, but it'd be even better if the whole lot of them kept on making art of one sort or another, high or low, and having an even finer time.

Apropos of all this, I loved reading about Antony Gormley's new installation, or whatever they call it, in Trafalgar Square which has members of the public getting up on the plinth and doing their bit for an hour each. Great idea. A lot more exciting than old Horatio.

And what's the peril I referred to earlier? Well simply this: if we fail to give ourselves some kind of creative outlet as individuals we become pathologically unbalanced. And if we do the same on a bigger scale - that of a whole society - then that society stands in danger of developing pathological symptoms on the grand scale. It's not my idea, but something I heard a writer and educator called Peter Abbs say a few years ago. At the time I thought he was exaggerating. Now I'm sure he wasn't.

The good news is that most people inevitably do gravitate towards creative activity, they can't help it. I think most of those kids whose stuff I was enjoying yesterday will find themselves fruitfully producing something or other in their adult lives, assuming the world they will inherit allows them to.