Think on this: The function of Art in every day life

The sculptor is here looking, it has been said, at the human form metaphorically: the figure is as much Nature as Woman, with its supporting arm and shoulder “ shaped like a blunt unyielding promontory”. Moore himself chose the site for the Figure, and his choice caused no little surprise at the time. He wanted it to be looked at against the skyline, in contrast to the common assumption of the time that a piece of sculpture should be discreetly enclosed, whether by building or vegetation.

The Reclining Figure resonates with me every time I stand up there on the high ridge of the terrace, looking down at the Hall and all it has come to represent. When I am there, I get to feel the gentle, peaceful calm that Moore wished to generate in memory of his friend, Christopher Martin, who had been the first Arts Administrator there.

Here, Ursula K. Le Guin’s words first brought to my attention in a Brainpickings blog by Maria Popova in January 2018, sum up the experience of these moments beautifully. Do read it. Here is a taste; it felt as if she were writing to me directly:

The daily routine of most adults is so heavy and artificial that we are closed off to much of the world. We have to do this in order to get our work done. I think one purpose of art is to get us out of those routines. When we hear music or poetry or stories, the world opens up again. We’re drawn in — or out — and the windows of our perception are cleansed, as William Blake said. The same thing can happen when we’re around young children or adults who have unlearned those habits of shutting the world out.

One of the functions of art is to give people the words to know their own experience. There are always areas of vast silence in any culture, and part of an artist’s job is to go into those areas and come back from the silence with something to say. It’s one reason why we read poetry, because poets can give us the words we need. When we read good poetry, we often say, ‘Yeah, that’s it. That’s how I feel.’

And here, the evocative words of Rabindranath Tagore, are equally as inspiring. 

"His influence and interests led Leonard Elmhirst to undertake an experiment in rural reconstruction at Dartington Hall. It is said that Tagore had become familiar with Dartington during his travels in England and influenced Elmhirst in his selection of the estate, which was purchased in a series of transactions in 1925." 

I shall be eternally grateful for these beautiful reminders to stop ... and just breathe, in the moment. 

I am a functioning artist.