Why Art Matters: A Student Advocacy Project
Presented by Loyola's Visual Arts program
NOV 18 - JAN 22
Reception: NOV 18 |Thurs 5-6:30 PM | Free
Concerned about decreasing public support for the arts, a Visual Communication III class took on the challenge of showing how important art is. Why Art Matters is a Student Advocacy Project premiering at Loyola this fall.
Its three-pronged approach features a wall of statements derived from interviews of Loyola’s students and community. Those interviewed were asked to consider why the arts are important to them. A second wall features personal artistic pieces by members of the class, articulating their own views about the importance of the arts. Finally, viewers of the exhibition will be invited to contribute their own point of view directly on a third gallery wall.
Preparing for this project, students considered why art really matters. Their responses provide insight into the motivation behind some of the pieces that will be shown in the exhibition:Art provides an outlet for facets of human expression that would otherwise never be realized.
Art connects us as human beings by this advanced ability to build and create. It provides people with a connection and taps into our basic need of social interaction.
Art provides insight into people, places, culture, values, and history. It records society and its views for future generations.
It’s personal and subjective and can cause upset in a mild to an extreme manner. It can move people to action or it can move people to introspection. It can alter perspectives, provide a visual proof of a concept, thumb its anthropomorphic nose at the establishment, or celebrate the societal ideal.
