Art - What is the Point?

Because I live in New York, my mother took any and every opportunity to take my younger brother and I to the many museums in the city. From the Met to the MoMA and everything in between, my brother, who is three years younger than me and was not interested in art in the least, and I were constantly being exposed to culture. I always enjoyed visiting the museums and, to this day, still travel into the city a few times a years to visit the museums.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

I suppose that my life-long exposure to art was the reason that M.T. Anderson's Feed shocked me so much, especially a quotation from the point of view of the main character, Titus.

After being hacked by a man while visiting the moon (just a casual way to spend spring break...), Titus and his group of friends are disconnected from the rest of the "feed" network. Titus spends his days in the hospital doing nothing but staring at a painting of a boat, which causes him to think

"I couldn't figure out even the littlest reason to paint a picture like that."

My favorite work of art at the Met...
will its appeal one day be lost?

I was quite taken aback by Titus' comment, which got me thinking about the "purpose" of art. I think that one of the many beauties of art is that there is no one tangible point to it. Art is the expression of one's thoughts, emotions, beliefs, and experiences. Art allows the viewer to interpret it in any way. I believe that openness and abstractness of art makes it beautiful. It is also one of the few things that has lasted in our society for centuries, an accomplishment that not many parts of culture can claim.

I fear that there are too many people in today's technological world who feel the same that Titus does. In this fast-paced progressive world, most people, at least people my age, do not take the time to stop and look at a work of art for a little bit and try to put themselves in the artist's shoes. The concept of art is truly a beautiful thing, and more people should stop and take the time to appreciate it, before we all begin to think the same way that Titus does.