#just telling people in DMs or flooding a discord server with it just doesn’t do it

[glocodile]

Something that just has been on my mind lately is that art doesn’t need a reason to exist. I’ve noticed that a good chunk of the people who get wayy too into media discourse are artists themselves. Like Steven Universe’s biggest critics seem to be other artists, especially animators/aspiring animators. And I understand this, as someone who’s about to graduate from art school this spring. Me and many of my peers have a lot of opinions about art, if that’s something you study then you probably will.

But I also think it comes from this desire for art to be important. I’d say about a quarter of people in art school will say that they just want stuff to look cool. Most really want their work to be important and to feel important. Representation in media NEEDS to be one of the top issues for them because it’s one of the few ways that they, as an artist, can feel like they’re contributing to society.

Art has existed for as long as humans have existed. It existed when there was much more food scarcity, when there was a lot more daily struggle for our own survival. Art always manages to exist in society even when there’s more important tasks to do.

I think a lot of my peers would get defensive over the question if art is as needed as say a doctor or farmer. And I would ask instead, does art need to be needed? Does it need to justify its existence?

There’s something very capitalist about this way of thinking, part of the philosophy that has seeped into art and religion. I consider myself a non-denominational Christian, but I was baptized in and currently go to a Seventh Day Adventist church. There’s some things I agree with them on and some things I don’t.

At some point I decided I wanted a necklace with a cross on it, and eventually got a rosary from a street artist and I wear it nearly every day that I go outside. Once I wore it to church and someone just a bit older than me, I’d guess early millennial/late gen X (I’m a millennial-gen Z cusper), told me how when he was younger, members of the SDA church weren’t supposed to wear any necklaces, even cross necklaces. People would hide it and put it on after leaving the house and take it off before going home.

I asked him if that was a gender thing and he said no, it was that everything had to have utility. If you proposed to someone, you were supposed to give a watch instead of a ring, because a watch has a purpose that isn’t just decorative.

Of course in modern times it’s a bit different and no one really cares that much. But it is something that ties into that “Protestant work ethic” and how capitalists treat art and religion.

The concept of everything needing to be utilitarian is so anti-Christianity (and likely anti-spirituality in general) if you really think about it. Jesus didn’t only turn water into wine, he turned it into GOOD wine (John 2:10). There’s a lot in scripture that suggests that we’re meant to get joy out of life.

It’s also so insidious to some core beliefs about Christianity. SDAs take the Sabbath very seriously, I mean they named themselves after it. They emphasize it as a day of rest. I can use my baptism certificate to get out of working on a Saturday if my boss tries to make me. That concept is already in conflict with capitalism. It also reminds me of that one atheist meme that I see floating around sometimes, talking about the collective hours that Christians spend in church every year, and how that time could be better spent building houses or whatever. And like, people who are otherwise anti-capitalist post it, implying that if something isn’t “productive” enough that we shouldn’t have it?

I often lightheartedly say that one thing I agree with Catholics with is their aesthetics. Like yes a lot of the iconic architecture was commissioned as a response to the Protestant reformation in order to attract more people into the church, but churches having room for “frivolous” things like art is something we need. It’s very much capitalist influence on Christianity that causes the emphasis on nonstop productivity and utility.

Not to mention all of the other anti-capitalist Christian messages like giving to the poor and whatnot, having time to rest and enjoy your life is something constantly devalued in capitalist society. And that extends to how we treat art.

This doesn’t mean that the meaning in art doesn’t matter, the themes are part of what makes a story interesting to me, and being mindful of the messages you perpetuate is important. But you don’t have to justify your existence as an artist. You don’t need to feel like someone would die without your work. You can just do things that bring yourself joy. I really think we’re meant to, and if you’re not religious or spiritual then you also exist the same way plants or animals or anything exists. You can just be.