Artists Are «Useless». 5 Reflections
Artists are «useless.» When faced with practical problems, no one turns to us. If someone is sick, they seek a doctor; if a vehicle breaks down, they call a mechanic; if there’s a legal issue, they hire a lawyer. These and many other professions provide clear answers, direct functions, and tangible results. But an artist? Why would anyone turn to a photographer, painter, writer, or musician when they need to solve an immediate problem?
In fact, in a world that values functionality and utility, our existence might seem irrelevant. To be honest, artists don’t build bridges, cure diseases, or produce technology that fuels the global economy. When people ask us what we do, our answers rarely satisfy their curiosity. And if they dare to ask if we make a living from it — as if living off art were a questionable privilege — we often don’t have a comfortable response. That question, strangely enough, is never posed to doctors, engineers, or lawyers. Those professions are assumed to be respectable and sustainable, while ours seems to live under constant scrutiny.
So then, what is the purpose of artists? What role do we play in the grand social machine?
MEASURING THE IMMEASURABLE
Art isn’t designed to operate within the logic of measurability. We often ask, perhaps with a touch of irony: What would humanity gain without Salvador Dalí, Beethoven, Akira Kurosawa, Frida Kahlo, Mario Benedetti, Robert Capa, or the Beatles and the Rolling Stones? What do street musicians, acrobats, puppeteers, clowns, or dancers contribute to a society obsessed with economic growth and productivity?
The truth is, in a world fixated on performance, our work can seem extravagant, even unnecessary. Artists don’t produce tangible goods or provide concrete solutions to day-to-day urgencies. We can’t fix a washing machine, negotiate a mortgage, or save a life in the emergency room.
But what if the purpose of art isn’t to solve problems, but to remind us that we are human?
ART AS AN EXPERIENCE THAT TRANSCENDS
Art isn’t practical, but it is profoundly essential. Artists possess the ability to touch hearts and minds without saying a word or meeting a gaze. A film can bring someone to tears; a photograph can freeze time; a painting can capture the complexity of an indescribable emotion.
Art pulls us out of the routine and confronts us with the unexplainable, with what words cannot capture. It makes us laugh, cry, think, and question. While a lawyer defends our justice and a doctor our physical well-being, artists defend our connection to the transcendent. We are the voice that articulates the ineffable, the brush that shapes the invisible, the sound that animates the silence.
The laughter provoked by a clown can heal a sorrow that seemed incurable. Music has the power to transport us to places we’ve never been or thought we had forgotten. A writer’s words can open a window into the depths of our own souls, and an actor can reveal truths about ourselves we were too afraid to face.
THE NECESSITY OF THE UNNECESSARY
Perhaps artists aren’t indispensable in the functional sense, but without them, what kind of life would we have? A life based solely on utility, practicality, and efficiency? Would we be automatons, beings who complete tasks but lack soul, passion, and questions?
Art connects us to the very essence of humanity. It reminds us that we are not merely bodies that work, consume, and rest. We are creatures that feel, imagine, and need to create and experience beauty. Without art, there would be no dance to celebrate, no music to remember, no words to console, no colors to dream.
THE UNANSWERABLE ANSWER
So, what are artists for? To remind us that life isn’t measured solely by utility but by moments that fill us with meaning, by instants that take our breath away. We are the architects of the intangible, the guardians of the unexplainable, the narrators of everything that makes life, with all its problems and complexities, worth living.
We may not be essential for solving immediate problems, but without us, the world would be a much emptier place. Perhaps more efficient, but infinitely more boring, cold, and devoid of soul. That’s why we’re here: to remind you that feeling, dreaming, and expressing are also ways to survive.
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