by Maria Popova

Maria Popova. Photo by Eric Haag

There is a beautiful Spanish word, duende, originally used to describe a mythical, muse-like spirit that possesses humans and creates the feeling of awe amidst nature. Its meaning has evolved to connote "the mysterious power that a work of art has to deeply move a person." Now, science is hard at work to unravel the mystery of duende.

Last month, a new study published in the British Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health found a strong positive correlation between "culture" and health: The researchers found that people who partake in "creative culture," by playing an instrument or creating art, or "receptive culture," by going to museums, concerts and art galleries, are less stressed, report higher levels of life-satisfaction and well-being, and are less likely to feel depressed or anxious.

A separate recent study by professor Semir Zeki, chair of the neuroaesthetics department at University College London, placed subjects in an fMRI machine and observed their neurological response to a selection of classical, culturally acclaimed paintings. The results were striking: Brain scans revealed looking at art elicited as much joy as being head-over-heels in love.

Science, of course, only corroborates what we have collectively intuited since time immemorial: The incredible importance of art in how we experience the world, others, and the subjective reality of our own lives. Since the dawn of civilization, artists have been the great sensemakers of humanity, framing for us what matters in the world by interpreting, reflecting on and amplifying the cultural concerns of the era. From cave painters who transformed holes in the earth into lively hubs of communal gathering and ceremonial tradition, to museum curators who transform disjointed pieces of creative self-expression into cohesive narratives about themes and subjects of cultural significance, to contemporary content curators who transform the chaos and overload of the web into a portal for guided curiosity by leading us to all that is interesting, beautiful and important online, the agents of art enrich and empower our imagination, well-being and creativity.

The benefits far transcend our mere individual happiness. (As if this, the grandest pursuit of all, were a small feat in and of itself.) Art allows us to see the world from diverse vantage points, which makes us more empathetic civic agents. Art stimulates us creatively, which makes us better, more productive, more entrepreneurial business agents. Art can speak so subtly that it forces us to think more deeply, feel more fully, engage more wholeheartedly. Art can speak so loudly that it upsets entire governments and sparks uncomfortable but necessary global conversations.

Michelangelo Pistoletto writes in Art's Responsibility:

Above all, artists must not be only in art galleries or museums--they must be present in all possible activities. The artist must be the sponsor of thought in whatever endeavor people take on, at every level.

 

A "sponsor of thought"--what an eloquent way to capture the immense imprint art leaves on society at large, a footprint that permeates just about every aspect of our intellectual contribution, whatever our specific area of work and expertise may be.

In 1971, iconic graphic designer Paul Rand wrote in an essay on integrity and invention:

Things can be made and marketed without our considering their moral or aesthetic aspects; ads can convince without pleasing or heightening the spectator’s visual awareness, products can work regardless of their appearance. But should they? The world of business could function without benefit of art--but should it? I think not, if only for the simple reason that the world would be a poorer place if it did.

Rand was right about the subjective poverty of a world without art, but was also somewhat wrong in framing it as a merely aesthetic problem. Ignoring the value of art for us as individual sentient beings and as a well-oiled social machine makes for a poverty of mind and spirit that reflects on everything from business to health to politics. Our creativity, productivity and intellectual stimulation--the very currencies of the arts--affect every aspect of who we become and, in turn, of what we can contribute to the world.

In a wonderful 2009 essay for UC Berkley's Greater Good Science Center, Ellen Dissanayake writes:

By reinforcing a group’s like-mindedness and one-heartedness, artistic rituals and ceremonies help persuade people to devote themselves to ideals that transcend narrow self-interest: loyalty, generosity, hard work, unselfishness, patriotism, and even the sacrifice of one’s life.

This is the power of art: The power to transcend our own self-interest, our solipsistic zoom-lens on life, and relate to the world and each other with more integrity, more curiosity, more wholeheartedness.

Francis Ford Coppola remarked in a recent interview, "An essential element of any art is risk. If you don’t take a risk then how are you going to make something really beautiful, that hasn’t been seen before? I always like to say that cinema without risk is like having no sex and expecting to have a baby. You have to take a risk."

Risk, unfortunately, is not something many, especially those in power, are comfortable with. Risk implies a high probability of failure. And when it comes to the question of funding the arts, what emerges is the typical cost-benefit analysis of any return-on-investment decision, wherein risk is devastatingly uncomfortable and undesirable. It's no wonder funding for the arts is at an all-time low--so much so that we have to have celebrities stand up in its defense on national television--and careers in the arts are among the lowest-paid for college graduates.

Reversing this paradigm requires recognizing the expansive, cross-disciplinary and far-reaching effects of engaging with the arts, both from an economic and humanitarian standpoint. A "sponsorship of thought" is not possible without a sponsorship of art. Choosing not to invest in our creative, intellectual and economic well-being as a culture and our well-rounded progress as a civilization seems like the riskiest decision of all.

Maria Popova is the founder and editor in chief of Brain Pickings, a curated cabinet of cross-disciplinary interestingness. She writes about design, culture and social good for Wired UK, Design Observer and The Atlantic, among others, and is an MIT Futures of Entertainment fellow. Maria is the first to admit she spends far, far too much time on Twitter as @brainpicker.