issue131

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Issue131:  

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The arts (painting, music, literature, etc.) reveal the otherwise hidden ideas and impulses of a society.
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Do the arts reveal the hidden ideas and impulses of a society? In my opinion, the art works are the artists’ individual understanding and inner thinking of the society. Thus, the arts are more personal impressions, rather than the reflection of hidden ideas and impulses of a society.

Admittedly, the art works are created under certain social circumstances, and we can be informed segments of the society. But, the arts always reveal the hidden ideas and values of artists for the historic events, rather than the latent ideas and impulses of the society. Even more, for emphasis artists’ focus, some modifier turned up in arts. Consider, for example, Shelley, the famous poet, wrote well-known "ode to the west wind" to reflect his attitude about revolutionists in the Industrial Revolution. And the Guernica, painted by Picasso, in the World War Two, reflected the painter's hidden idea of expecting peace and horrifying the war. In sum, there art works do not reveal the hidden ideas and values of the society in the certain era, nor uncover the opinion of populace. From them, we just realize the thinking of these artists, which encourage and bolster the justice.

In addition, some arts merely reflect the artist's inner world, and they have with no relationship with the society which artists worked in. It is known that myriads of artists are likely to take themselves alone from the mass for unique ideas and inspirations. As well as artists create their works through imagination and fantasy at times. In the above mentioned circumstances, there is no information about the society or the populace in art works. Take the Beethoven as an example. In order to create great music, he even locked himself in his narrow apartment and did not meet friends for months in order to concentrating on his works. The work, such as great symphony No. 5, so-called destiny, tends to inform us Beethoven's spirit to struggle with the fate and his decision to control his life by himself.

Especially, artists are more sensitive than the mass, trivial things will affect the thinking of them. As for the successful painter, Picasso, his styles of arts had changed several times during his whole lifetime. Does it mean that the ideas and impulses of the society in that time changed several times either? Definitely does not. It is purely Picasso's mind altered. Provided we deduce the otherwise conceptions of the society from the arts, we would be misled.

In whole, the arts are the personal reflection of the artists. We can realize the hidden ideas and values of artists from analyzing their works. Nevertheless, the arts are too individual to reveal little the otherwise hidden ideas or changes of a community.