Morgan Williams
The other day someone asked me to imagine a world with “no art”. I had never really contemplated this possibility before. To me art is like air or food or sunshine; it’s an essential element of life, a core foundation required to function. Art helps me make sense of the world. It explains complex ideas, helps me deal with difficult situations, allows me to document, play, change, revolutionise and explore… how could the world exist without these things I thought?
For some, the term art might simply mean decoration: a pretty painting on the wall, a sculpture for the garden. It is those things too, but it is so much more as well. The wide categories of art on offer are a bit like a restaurant menu; rich, complex and varied. In a similar way, the purpose of art could be seen as varied as a spice rack, packed with different flavours, all nuanced, some deeply personal and none of them right nor wrong, just different.
Chances are you sometimes enjoy art without always realising it. Something so embedded in our lives and intrinsic to our being can often go unnoticed or unappreciated until it is gone. Throughout human history art has been right by our side, from ancient mark-making on cave walls to giant shiny sculptures storeys high beside tall buildings. From a court jester to the latest film to the words you’re reading right now, if there’s creative input and expressive purpose, chances are we can call it art.
No art would mean no music, no dancing at a party or heading out to a concert. No stand-up comedy or funny shows, no reels on socials. No written stories to share experiences of the past, future or present. No images on the wall to ponder, to reflect our life, to expand the mind or explore the soul.
My mum still has some paintings hanging in her home that I did of a holiday when I was just big enough to hold a paintbrush. Capturing the memory of that holiday was important to me. It was the first time Dad took me fishing. Those big dripping marks still instantly transport me back to a jetty and a time long ago. To this day I have a preference for painting a memory while on holidays. Somehow for me, it captures the feeling, time and place more than a photo ever will. It forces me to slow down, observe closely and connect more fully with the moment.
So really, how could there be no art? If we use it to process our world through a multitude of mediums, like our dreams at night, is it actually possible for it not to exist? Without it, do we stop seeing the world around us? Do we stop processing or understanding the complexity of what it is to be human?
When people come to stay with us in our rural home they talk about being recharged by the trees, emptying their minds in the silence, unwinding through a slower pace. In a similar way, we head to the city and trawl galleries and concerts, soaking up all the art and culture we can over a weekend. Just like nature, art can provide a recharge, filling our cup with a multitude of ideas, thoughts and inspiration.
I’m really not sure it is possible to have life without art. There are those who might try to silence art because it speaks inconvenient truths or holds opposing views, but history shows us those people won’t prevail. To ban books, to belittle voices of dissent, to try and control the human narrative, that to me is what no art looks like, and I’ll have no part of that!
So now, more than ever, make art. Make it in the streets, make it in your home. Write it, draw it, perform it, film it, sculpt it, dance it, sing it, sew it, garden it, chant it and together we can ensure that a world without art is never possible.
Morgan Williams is the co-director with Kim Percy of Radius Art Space. His art practice spans a 30 year period and explores a diverse range of mediums and topics.
