Arts are why we continue to live
We wouldn't have survived the pandemic or human existence without them.
Happy Tuesday, friends! 👋🏽
Sorry to have missed an issue last week. I got my second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and it took me out for a good 48 hours there. Here's hoping that's the last time Miss 'Rona impacts my ability to write or do fun things1.
The other day, as I was battling the vaccine's side effects, I kept thinking about April-July 2020. That's when the world collectively went into a lockdown. Those first few months existed in a liminal space for me and probably most of you too.
It was very jarring to see my overcrowded and overpopulated city devoid of people on the streets. From seeing my friends almost every day to only seeing their pixelated features on Zoom for five months was certainly a change. Now, most of us survived this pandemic because of a bunch of things — cooking (Dalgona Coffee), TV shows (Tiger King), video games (Among Us), and more kept us occupied and diverted our attention.
Honestly, most of us underestimate how much the pandemic has affected us. If you were lucky enough to make it through alive or without losing someone, thank your lucky stars. Unfortunately, though, all the isolation and fear, and anxiety really did a number on our brains.
In fact, it's fair to say that the creative outlets we turned to were integral to keeping us sane during a very scary period in our lives.
Are the arts essential or not?
Sometime in June 2020, during the same lockdown period, a popular newspaper surveyed people and listed essential vs. non-essential jobs.
Unsurprisingly (at least to me), artists were considered the most non-essential. Yet, ironically, as another tweet pointed out, they required the services of an artist (an illustrator) to add more than text to their little article.
Now, obviously, in the middle of a raging pandemic, healthcare and service workers are deemed most important, they’re literally essential. As they well should be, because hello, we'd all be dead otherwise.
But I can't help but notice how easy it is to dismiss the arts whenever it comes to choosing which is more "important." Our society rarely rewards the arts and those who choose to make a career in them — not in money2, not in status, not in anything useful during their lifetimes.
So, of course, it's easy to diminish their value and deem them as 'non-essential' when push comes to shove.
Life depends on science, but the arts make it worth living
Artistic jobs — illustrators, painters, writers, creators, are rarely paid enough to eke out a decent living. Why? It's because society doesn't think they're important or essential enough to be paid well. But we sure as heck depend on the arts every single day. From the TV shows we watch after work to destress, to our meals with friends that keep us connected, to the museums we visit to learn more about culture and history, to the music we work to — almost everything that makes us happy was created by an artist.
If Einstein had not written down E=mc2, another scientist would one day have done so,[..] but no one else could have written Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
— Professor John Martin, Director of University College London's Centre for Cardiovascular Biology and Medicine
Art has existed for as long as we've been conscious. Whether it's cave art or oral lore, humans have shared their ideas, thoughts, and feelings by expressing them through art. Stories and pictures, and music have all been such an integral part of our lives that we actually preserve cave paintings, we diligently transcribe oral lore, and we do our best to keep art alive.
But then why don't we respect today's artists and creators the same way? I'm not just talking in terms of money. I'm talking in terms of respect, encouragement, and support. Struggling artists are often easily dismissed by others as failures, but we don't offer them what they need to succeed.
Science tells us how we're alive, but the arts tell us why we need to live.
I can't remember where I heard that, but it's stayed with me as I've questioned my choice to be a writer — a historically underpaid and underappreciated profession (unless you're one of the lucky ones).
My main grouse is with those who hate the arts and call for it to be the first to go in times of strife but depend on it every day to check out of their mundane existence. I hardly think it's fair for them to slam the creators who put in blood, sweat, and tears to create something only to be labeled non-essential or swept to the side to glorify other careers.
Art is how we communicate. With the present, the past, and the future. Creativity is what keeps us going. That's not my firm belief in the arts; that's science. Engaging with and creating art activates your brain's reward center — it is literally good for you. It lowers stress and helps you gain new perspectives.
I'm thankful for those artists who created and kept us entertained and engaged during the pandemic. Without their work, we may as well have lived through the Dark Ages. Art helps us work through crises, it gives out outlets to express our emotions, it gives us representation, it gives us hope.
Every day, we wake up and continue existing in the same way we did yesterday.
Art — making it and consuming it — makes that bearable.
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Finally, your reminder for this week:
Don’t forget to heart the issue (right at the top or right under this). ❤️
See you next week!
Can you believe I've gotta miss the exclusive premiere of Wheel of Time because I'm still vulnerable for a week more?
Let's not even get into the fact that society is very hypocritical about paying fairly the jobs it actually considers 'essential' — underpaid delivery drivers and hospitality service folks, ring a bell?