How Art Reflects Our Present and Reimagines Our Future

2020 and 2021 have been eventful, to say the least. Many people have experienced trauma and isolation. Almost a year ago when the world started shutting down, the arts were the first thing to go. Museums, theater, and film productions closed, and many other art industries suffered. However, art might be one of the most important vessels for healing and community building. 

Art has reflective properties as it can both affirm our present and reimagine our future. Through the pandemic, many artists are communicating, and thus subsequently processing their experiences through a wide variety of media.  

Recently, Architectural Digest surveyed a handful of artists about what they created during the pandemic. Particularly, Swiss multimedia artist Ugo Rondinone conveyed his feelings of peace and silence that come from isolation in his watercolor entitled Sunset Sunrise. He said, “This is a good time for me to work in silence.” 

Art expresses what it means to be human. It helps us communicate and understand our different circumstances, something that is heavily needed today. However, art not only depicts our individual perspective but also can express our shared human experience.

As the pandemic has continued through the months, more and more people are participating in and viewing art. Be it at home, watching virtual performances, or creating public murals, art shows what it means to be human.

At this moment amid a pandemic, we are also engaging with racial injustice issues highlighted by the Black Lives Matter movement which boomed over the summer. In all of this crisis, the arts are a tool that can foster deeper connections, community, expression, and remind us of our humanity. Locally, large-scale murals created by both professional artists and everyday people started appearing all over Oakland. In downtown Oakland, Gaia WXYZ created the Black Girls Deserve Better mural. Gaia said that “…men would sexualize me and objectify me. I wish that Black girls today could live and be girls. I wanted to channel that frustration into a message that could uplift.”

In addition to helping process our experiences, connect us, and inspire empathy, art also helps us reimagine what our world could be. This year has been an awakening as to how far we still have to go regarding racial justice and equality. What we direct our attention and efforts to now will influence what our future becomes, and art can be used to galvanize this process. 

With all this said, the art industry has caused a lot of harm in the past. Most large museums have enforced inequality in their structured, traditional exclusivity of diverse voices. They historically objectify other cultures and unjustly collect works. However, many are working to repatriate, create inclusive programming, and critically examine their collections. Despite these flaws in the institution, art can still be inspiring.

In the School, senior and artist Zoe Beach shared one of her digital media pieces that she made during quarantine entitled Halt. She said it is “in response to ‘the three pandemics’ ravaging our society…my flower features societal impacts… that have continued amidst the pandemic.”  She said it is a call to follow “the lessons of nature, evolving into better versions of ourselves.”

Zoe said it “helped me express my feelings about the pandemic, the racial reckoning we have been experiencing, and the climate crisis…Art is a portal for me to express my emotions and thoughts, and for me to communicate with my community.”

Art expresses our personal perspectives, connects us by highlighting our shared experiences, promotes empathy, and is a tool to reimagine the future.