The Beauty of Art Today

    Every way an individual turns, some form of arts medium can be found – be it in the form of a sign from a business, a bag from a story, or music playing from speakers somewhere above their head. When people think of the arts or a school of the arts they most likely think of painting, drawing, sculptures, and occasionally even music, however, there is a field in the arts that is often overlooked by individuals, the theater as a whole, actors, lights, and set.

Theater, the acting portion of it that is, is often thought of not as part of the arts but as a skill, something that can be acquired, something anyone with enough time and money can be taught to do well. To clarify, anything in the arts cannot be taught, whatever field your work is in, your ability to make, or perform as the case might be, is natural. Yes, ones skills can be refined and built upon, but an artist either has “it” – the ability to make art – or he, or she, does not. Anyone can spout off, “To be, or not to be, that is the question,” which is one of the most famous lines from Hamlet, and arguably the most famous line from any play. It takes talent in the arts to deliver that line correctly, or with the proper breath, power, and depth in those words if you will. 

Behind the actors as well, setting the mood and place, one can find multiple fields of the arts. Without the set and lighting design even the best actors seem drab. Just the color of light, or the color of the gels in front of the lights to be precise, can have the biggest effect on the mood of a scene or even entire play. For instance if a character is, say, really greedy the costume designer might have the character in green. If the same character turns out to be evil, as many greedy characters are in plays and films, the lighting designer may chose to light him, or the characters scene, in red light. The mixture of the two colors will make the character’s garb seem black and menacing. Just like music, the colors have a psychological effect and make us feel a certain way.

Lastly, the set plays an integral role in making theater a part of the arts. If a you have the worlds best actor, say Philip Seymour Hoffman, performing on stage – at the top of his game – it means nothing, absolutely nothing at all, if the set around him isn’t artistically done and accurate for whatever scene he is performing. The set most not just be a bunch of wood nailed together and painted over with funky lines and colors – the set has to have life and the only people who can create life from nothing are artists. 

There are always new and exciting things going on in the arts, regardless of field or medium, or even one’s personal taste. Everyday things are significantly more “artsy” than they appear if one really thinks about it.