Why Do We Make Art?

Why Do We Create Art?

There's More Reasons Than You Think!

Reason 1

Reason 6

Artist: Edgar Degas

Artist: Claude Monet

Reason 4

Reason 2

Reason 3

Reason 5

Artist: Salvador Dali

Artist: Edvard Munch

Artist: Francisco Goya

Artist: Audrey Flack

Reason 7

Reason 12

Artist: Jaques-louis David

Artist: Albert Bierstadt

Reason 8

Reason 10

Reason 9

Reason 11

Artist: Leonardo Da Vinci

Artist: Diego Rivera

Artist: Danielle Coke

The Bayeux Tapestry

To Record A Person, Time, Place, Or Object

Claude Monet (1840-1926) was a founder of the impressionist art movement, where artists tried to capture a moment in time. Monet spent most of his career communicating the way he perceived his subjects, which was mostly nature. Monet often would paint the same subject but in different times of the day, or even different times of the year.

We Want To Reinforce Cultural Ties And Traditions

Diego Rivera (1886-1957) was a famous Mexican painter who did most of his work in big murals on walls. He helped establish the mural movement in Mexican and International art. Most of the murals painted in Mexico portray Mexican history, traditions, and heritage.

We Can Do Something That No One Else Can (At Least Not Yet....)

Audrey Flack (1931) is one of the early pioneers of the photorealism, or hyperrealism art movements. Hyperrealism is where artists try to precisely reproduce a photograph in paint often fooling the viewer into believing their work is actually a photograph! Audrey's paintings are usually larger than 5' wide and 5' tall!

We Want To Commemorate Important People or Events

Jaques-Louis David (1748-1825) was widely known as one of the top artists from his time period. One of his favorite things to paint was historical events. David lived before cameras, so the only way we know what many historical events look like was because he created paintings about them!

To Explore The Unknown

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519) was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor and architect. He was never satisfied- he always wanted to learn more! While he was most known for his paintings, his notebooks have since become almost as famous as his paintings. He would study everything that he could, and documented all of his learning in his notebooks. Some of his most famous sketches are his ideas for new inventions.

We Seek To Affect Social Change

Artist Danielle Coke is an American artist and illustrator that uses art to help communicate her messages about social change. She has become widely known for her simple artwork with powerful messages. Danielle has said, "I have a serious passion for encouraging audiences of all sizes to take action in their spheres of influence and use their lives to pursue the ultimate good."

We Want To Make Others See More Clearly

Francisco Goya (1746-1828) created this painting, "The 3rd of May 1808" to commemorate Spain's resistance to Napolean's armies during the occupation of 1808 in the Peninsular war. It was the first painting to depict the horrors of war. Art Historian Kenneth Clark said that the painting is "the first great picture which can be called revolutionary in every sense of the word, in style, in subject, and in intention",

We Want To Make The Ordinary Extraordinary

Albert Bierstadt (1830-1902) was one of the foremost painters of the American West. The American government paid for Bierstadt to go west and paint the scenery to help entice people to settle west. He would take already beautiful landscapes from what he observed and elaborate them in his paintings to make them almost seem like fairy tales.

To Tell Stories, Or Entertain Others

The Bayeux Tapestry is a 230 foot long embroidered cloth that tells the story of the conquest of England by William, Duke of Normandy in 1066. 1066 is a long time ago (957 years)! 230 feet is a long tapestry! The Little America Hotel and Towers in Salt Lake City is the same height as the tapestry is long (Google it).

We Want To Provide The Viewer With New Visual Experiences

Salvador Dali (1904-1989) was an artist that worked mainly in the surrealist movement, where artists tried to "release the potential of the unconscious mind." Dali did a number of artworks showing optical illusion, usually where the images are different than what the viewer thinks they are.

We Seek Personal Enjoyment and Satisfaction

Edgar Degas (1834-1917) found enjoyment and satisfaction as he worked to show movement in his paintings. He is considered a master of depicting movement! Degas was an accomplished artist in drawing, painting, and bronze sculpture. He is most known for paintings in the subject of dance.

We Want To Express Personal Thoughts Or Feelings

Edvard Munch (1863-1944) created the painting "The Scream" to communicate the anxiety and terror of a man being dragged into a new and terrifying modern era, Clearly this artwork is expressing feeling! The inspiration for this painting came as Munch was out walking at sunset, when he 'heard the enormous, infinite scream of nature'.