Arts and their importance in education. Part I

May 7, 2010

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I wonder why people love arts so much. I say to myself that artistic artifacts aren't always useful; still we admire and adore them, because of the sole power of their beauty. We are very fond of beautiful objects, and artistic artifacts can tell us something, adorable things that inspire our sensations and our imagination. Music, theatre, wonderful paintings, beloved books, life would be terribly sad and boring without artists.

Britannica Online defines art as "the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others." Considering this definition of the term "art", we can conclude that artistic works have existed for almost as long as humankind. Creativity is always an intelligent activity; something that didn't exist before being imagined is born thanks to the intelligence and creativity of its creator.

Thanks to fantastic archaeological findings - i.e. Stone Age petroglyphs discovered during the 1990s in two ancient quartzite caves in India: Auditorium Cave, Bhimbetka and a Daraki-Chattan rock shelter, dating from at least 290,000 BCE, - we know that art history spans the entire history of humankind.

Many experts consider human evolution is defined by the development of stone tools, and this process impacts directly on the development of ancient art. From the times of prehistoric smart men to our modern twenty-first century and its wonderful artists, art is always present.

I can imagine our prehistoric ancestor teaching his son, in a form of rudimentary &#&art class&#&, in an ancient &#&art school&#&, how to perforate an animal tooth, or shell, just to use it purely as an ornament or decorative object.

An important number of "higher" functions such as language and creative expression are directly associated with brain performance. It seems that as human brain began its developing process by becoming bigger and more sophisticated, the prehistoric man managed to leave behind such a rich heritage of rock art and cave painting.

And I ask to myself could it be possible that art disciplines help to improve the brain performance? I dare to say yes.

Important educators consider that learning and practicing the arts disciplines are of main importance to the healthy development of children's creativity, nourishing their minds and spirits.