Understanding the Arts

Visual and Performing Arts

Rhonda Rusk

Arts/100

August 1, 2010

Timothy Orme

Understanding the Arts

In today’s fast moving society, where everyone expects immediate gratification and few things can slow us down. It is not until we read a book, see a movie, go to the theater to watch a play, hear an opera or lose ourselves in a ballet recital that we learn to take time to stop and smell the roses. In studying Humanities we see the world through the eyes of an artist. We can understand the connectivity between the arts and life. Humans create all forms of art to express feelings, to show the world new ways of seeing the things around us, or create a record of our time and culture.

In the performing arts, the artist has a vision, whether it is a play, a ballet, or an opera. This vision may be an experience in their lives, based on feelings they have, a historic event they find interest in or a condition of human existence they want to portrait. Performers’ use the art of acting to share the artists visions with an audience, and in that way is can create a work of art that can be share and enjoyed by many.

As one of the many, I have attended many performances, I always have appreciated the feeling of being able leave my worries and stress behind and lose myself in the art. Whether watching a drama, a musical, a comedy or a tragicomedy, I am able to immerse myself into the art and journey to many places. “Works of Arts can provide escape from everyday cares, treat us to a pleasant experience, and engage us in social occasions” (Sporre, 2009 p. 11). Even knowing that these works of art are not real, we can lose ourselves in the moment and forget our cares for a time.

By studying Humanities, both visual and performing arts, we are better able to understand what we see and hear. We learn to look at these arts in a new way. “When a person studies humanities [the arts], the intended result is that he should be better able to understand, design, build...