Can Art Destroy Us?

Can Art Destroy Us? Watch this video by Jason Silva and then you decide:

Let the words sink in.

 

Perspective 1
Just like water, art has the power to keep us afloat and to drown us.

 

 

Perspective 2
Just like fire, art has the ability to both illuminate and destroy us.

 

 

Perspective 3
Just like words, art has the ability to both start a story and end it.

 

“Make your choice, adventurous Stranger,
Strike the bell and bide the danger,
Or wander, till it drives you mad,
What would have followed if you had.”
C.S. Lewis

 

So, Can Art Destroy Us?
It is one of the many relative questions that has the ability to cause a mind to wander. What is art? How does one define the word “destroy”? Is it a mere response that categorizes itself as the definition of an emotional reaction? Or is the shattering of an idea that you had or a turning point that you didn’t see coming? Can a piece of production/ visualization of one person’s idea, have the power to be interpreted into someone else’s way of thinking to impact them on such a moving level?

It’s possible. It’s been done before & it does happen. The intimacy that goes into the relationship of an artist and his/her artwork, can only reach its purpose by making a connection. So yes, under a certain spotlight, art can “destroy” us. It can help us shatter our own ideas, in order to allow us space to think of the new ones.

Combination of words have the power to make people both cry & laugh. They are able to draw out memories & evoke emotions that sometimes seem beyond the moment itself.

One thing common between incenses, candles & firecrackers is that we have to burn them in order to observe the beauty in them. Similarly, we need to completely surrender the stubborn manner of our own ideas in order to truly produce what you’re capable of.