The Comfort of Visual Art

We were watching a movie the other night - where one of the main characters walks into a new apartment where they are to live on a temporary basis. The director wanted to ensure that the apartment - albeit furnished, as to look spartan and uninviting. There were the usual couch, chair, dining table and chairs, coffee table and lamp as well as some neutral curtains on the windows. So what made it seem so uninviting and cold? The absence of personality - most often exemplified by art on the walls, photos in frames on a table, shelf or wall, sculpture or floral arrangements.

Artwork Courtesy - Patricia D Arndt
www.dailytrekinart.blogspot.com

When art is created there are many reasons but in the end they all contribute to pervading a space with personality, with an impact on our senses and a distinct feeling that we are not alone. This comfort is one of many benefits that those of us who do not create the art, take away from it. This should be an encouragement for artists, an incentive for all collectors and purchasers of art and one more pleasure to be gained by personal expression shared.