The Role Of The Artist

Psychology can teach us more about society than philosophy. Most traits of society are extensions of personal psychology because society is a network of people.

Money is an extension of the natural feeling of indebtedness between people. Do a favour, scratch a back, lend a lawnmower and the lendee has an innate feeling of indebtedness towards the lender, and this powerful feeling is almost always paid back with something of similar perceived value. Money is the extension of this feeling, a universal credit used in similar exchanges. Give money and you expect something of similar value in return. Paying too much for too little causes the exact feelings of resentment that one feels when doing a big favour and getting nothing back. It might seem that paying too little for something worth much more would cause universal happiness, but this can cause exactly the feelings of indebtedness and guilt associated with being unable to return a favour.

The role of art in society is also an extension of psychology, and in this case it's an extension of interpersonal communication. In an online study, the fact that art conveys the feelings of the artist was shown to be the most important aspect of an artwork. Why should that be so? Why do the feelings of the painter matter when confronted with little more than a visual pattern of colour? Conveying feelings and thoughts honestly is considered important in art because that is considered important in society and in interpersonal communication generally. This reveals that art is a public extension of personal communication.

This underlines that truth IS the most important aspect of an artwork, and can provide an understanding to its merits and function. In this role, the artist is individual in a group, able to address all members, and this applied to all media from pop music to painting to dance. It's clear though that not all are is understood to be personal. Nobody seriously believes that the latest teen-pop is really just falling in love and/or heartbroken, even if the artist is considered good should the story be believable. Belief is willingly suspended because it is understood that a group message is not a personal one.

The function of the artist is not to express his or her personal feelings but to convey group feelings to the group. It is through empathy, insight and understanding that messages are produced, and by skill that messages are conveyed as intended.

Mark Sheeky, 4 November 2011