Why Is Art Important to American Culture?

Culture is a way of life that includes language, arts, sciences, behaviors, and beliefs. Art is part of culture and culture is expressed and influenced by art.  Art and culture are intertwined. Art is a vehicle for enlightenment, expression, and communication. Art includes music, paintings, sculptures, film, photography, architecture, and literature. Let’s explore art and culture in depth.

Art is important because it is how we define ourselves as Americans.  It is a way to communicate our dreams and ideas that cannot be expressed with words.

Art is a large part of our shared experiences. With art, we heighten our emotions, understanding, and become more human.  Our senses, emotions, and intelligence are all rolled up into art; all three are the driving forces behind art and all three are influenced by art.

So what is the importance of art? To answer this question, let’s look at each aspect of art to see its importance in American culture: music, visual arts, architecture, and literature. 

Music

Can you imagine a day without music? Television shows, movies, and car rides would be very quiet and boring without music. The kinds of music that Americans listen to, compose, and perform define us as a diverse mix of tastes. Music helps people get in touch with their emotions or express them.

Music can express things that words cannot. It can reduce stress, ease pain, raise your mood, provide ambiance, and can be beneficial as a therapeutic tool. 

Visual Arts

The visual arts, just like music, can communicate things that words cannot.  The artist is expressing his emotions in the art, and the art will stir emotions in the person observing it.

The visual arts can be inspirational and enhance our experiences. Art gives us a creative outlet and stimulates our mind.

All of these are explanations for the importance of art in American culture.

Architecture

Architecture is more than shelter and security. It can influence our mood and help us appreciate beauty.

Elaborately decorated churches or temples with high ceilings were built that way to uplift the people inside and assist them in worship.          

Literature

In the American culture, literature and the media play very important roles. They educate, inform, and enlighten us. Literature can inspire, point out an injustice, or express strong emotions. Think about Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech and you see how just a combination of words can change hearts and lives.

What Makes Up the American Culture

Since you know that the reasons art is important are complex, let’s look at the influence of art in American culture. Here are examples of shared experiences that make up our culture.  

• Most Americans are familiar with these television shows: Sesame Street, Bob Newhart, Bugs Bunny, the Fonz, Star Trek, the Three Stooges, Bewitched, Archie Bunker, and the Honeymooners. 
• Most Americans have seen these movies: Star Wars, The Godfather, Jaws, E. T., Home Alone, Snow White, and Lord of the Rings. Older Americans have also seen Gone with the Wind, 2001, A Night at the Opera, Psycho, Casablanca, and Citizen Kane.
• Most Americans know: the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan, with older Americans knowing Louis Armstrong, Al Jolson, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Kate Smith.
• Most Americans are familiar with: Mark Twain, Emily Dickinson, John Steinbeck, Edgar Allan Poe, Henry David Thoreau, Walt Whitman, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Herman Melville. Literature that shows American culture include: Melville’s Moby Dick, Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Steinbeck’s The Grapes of Wrath, and Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

Art permeates every aspect of culture and defines that culture.