Art has always been a reflection of emotions, personal struggle and events that break the path of a contemporary society. When a society demands or undergoes a change, art has subtly fulfilled it. The Oxford Dictionary describes art as “the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, attractive, or of more than ordinary meaning.” Indeed, art is definitely an expressive platform for individuals, groups, as well as society, especially radical changes or witnessed events. It usually describes the current or particular scenario in the realm of the political, economic, social, geographical situation, the emotions that revolve in it, the background of the revolutions and the uprising, to name just a few.
If we talk periodically about art as a reflection of society, we start with the oldest. The ‘Prehistoric Art’ consisted of paintings on the rocks and caves, symbolizing their rituals and routine lifestyles. Therefore, the paintings were evidence of their culture, helping historians to gain insight into the life, culture, and civilization of this time. The famous ‘Indus Valley’ or ‘Harappa’, ‘Greek’ and ‘Egyptian’ civilizations, especially had a prolific art, which included sculpture, architecture, paintings, prints and metal art.
In fact, the most we know about these incredibly rich civilizations is attributed solely to their artifacts and narrative buildings. For example, the ‘Egyptian civilization’ believed in life after death. Therefore, the society had a strong spiritual framework, concentrating more on the human journey after death. They believed in immortality and worshiped many deities, a fact drawn from the paintings that adorn the walls of the great pyramids. However, the Greek civilization was more emphatic about the human form, its balance and beauty, and it was mainly reflected in the costumes, body languages, hairstyles and cultures that prevailed in the different periods.
Creativity adopted the sects of the ‘Artistic Movement’ to represent the realities of a contemporary society, vis-à-vis, its stable fabric, aspects that change regularly and even revolutions. The impact of the contemporary socio-political scene has also always been portrayed. For example, before the First World War, Paris used to be full of great political activity. This restlessness influenced somewhere in the development of the “cubism” of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. ‘Cubism’ involved the description of a particular subject from multiple angles, a situation practically prevalent at the time. The art became mysterious in essence, to manifest the emergence of various political conspiracies in Paris at that time.
Expressionism ‘was another art form developed, when society went through transitions at different levels, including creative. There was a revolt against the traditional view towards art. A modern approach was adopted. The ‘Modern Art’ was a mixture of ‘Abstract Realism’, in which the subject was distorted to represent its reality and its emotional upheaval. The colors of paintings have almost always represented the true emotions of the subject, the event, or the mood of the artists.
To conclude, we can say that art may not always be aesthetically beautiful or understandable to everyone. However, it should be powerful enough to portray current emotions in society, including exposing hard and subtle truths, while encouraging improvements. The only constant in the world is change. In tune, societies metamorphose through different annals of time and art helps capture the resulting twists and turns in contemporary culture and lifestyle.