Art Enrichment Lecture: Leo Fuchs "The Purpose of Art and the Artist in Society

Leo Fuchs, leofuchs2011@yahoo.com 

“The Purpose of Art and the Artist in Society”

Gallery Member, Leo Fuchs, will present the true meaning of art and why we need art, artists and culture to sustain a vibrant society. 

This lecture will concern itself with the issues of the purpose of art, meaning, what is the proper role of art in the culture? The question thus becomes art in the service of what? Through an exploration of historical developments in the arts, and referencing to some germinal writers on the subject, we will identify and explain what the proper function of art has been in the context of all human cultures, and what it can and must be in our own times if we are to continue to have a vibrant art and culture. As goes the culture so goes the society, Art must lead the society, not mirror it.

For the second element of the discussion, the function of the artist in society, we will address the issues of how and what the artist must do to create an art that serves the proper functions of art. These ideas will be discussed through a consideration of; aesthetics, beauty, radiance, and artistic vision. Defining the role of the artist by certain criteria may seem contrary to the concept of creative freedom, but the deeper aspects of these ideas will reveal that an infinite universe of creative possibilities will open to the artist and bring forth a vitality of expression that has only been glimpsed during the great epic historical periods of art. When artists have a direct purpose in their work, they are inspired beyond possibilities as yet considered.

These ideas far from being new are a historical continuum of the underlying knowledge that has moved and inspired all the great artists throughout history. As we rediscover the content, meaning, and allegory of great art we can bring forth the kind of creative energy that fueled the renaissance.