issue144 by kiki~

KiKi~淇水滺滺UID: 2679824

We all know that art works, which are created by artists and understood by critics, are the carriers of lasting value, as studying the art works is the only way to find the lasting value for society.

Lasting value is of course the key word we should focus on in this statement. However, it’s hard to give a correct definition to it because different people have different ideas. Some define it as something can make money for the artists; some may think those last for a long time have it. These are all reasonable, while it seems to me that lasting value is something hiding in the art works that can awake people’s internal emotions, which has the power to exceed time and boundaries.

Although human beings have various languages and culture and cannot communicate with each other sometimes, we have common emotions and expressions. Good art works are infused a lot of emotions by authors, convey them very well and touched people through colors, images, words and sounds. The thing that carries the artists’ emotions then well-moved the ones who read them is the so-called” lasting value” in the art works.

Lasting value is created by the artists, who put their emotions and feelings into the works, because of many characters critics not have, such as originality and uniqueness. They give life to the art works and make them fascinating. Originality is one of the most important reasons. Artists produce the arts before anyone comes out a same one. Van Gogh is a monument in his era, paints a large amount of paintings which are appreciated by generations and generations after his death. Even though many people imitate his way of painting when he becomes famous, he is the first one to give the society these paintings. Uniqueness is also another reason to the lasting value of the art works. Also use Van Gogh as an example. His paintings are the results of his life, his experience and his times. No two leaves in the world are the exactly same, so as to the artists and art works. We can never find a person like Van Gogh with the same life, having the same experience and emotions, living in the same era, so his works can never be copied.

On the other hand, critics need the art works to make comments, and then who make the art works with creativity? They are artists. No art works, no lasting value, afterward the society doesn’t need a career as critics. That means no artists, no critics.

Of course, critics make great contributions to understand and spread the art works. Some art works are so difficult that we need someone to tell us what the real meanings in them are. Like Ode to the West Wind written by Shelley，if we just read that poem, we may just think it is a poem about nature and sing the praises of west wind. However, critics find it is also a poem appreciate the worker class who are able to fight against the upper class. Critics usually are ones that have professional background in the art fields and study deeply on the works, they help us normal people look deeply into the works and comprehend what the artists want to express in detail.

To sum up, although critics give a better understanding to art works, the ones who give the lasting value to the works and the society are still artists.