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Art is one of the most primitive forms of expression and has spoken to man throughout the ages. Like love, music, language, and dance, art moves us, speaks to us, and changes us. Does art affect us or do we affect art? Whilst in the throws of the deepest depression and during manic phases of glee, many artists have produced their best and most profound works. While we, the viewing patrons, might not be experiencing the strong emotions of the artist, we can often understand what the artist was feeling when we observe the colors, the force of the strokes, and the depicted images. Art provides a means by which to connect on an intensely personal level.

The amygdala is a part of the brain which interprets and understands emotion, feeling, and memorization of music; the amazing amygdala associates and ties emotions to memory. Therefore, when we hear a beautiful musical movement, a "groove" is imprinted in our brain so that each time we here the song, we remember the music, the lyrics, and the memory associated with it.
Viewing art, such as a painting or movie, which is disturbing or elicits fear, will produce the association of fear with that particular piece of art. The experience of fear or discomfort may surround the entire experience or place in which it was viewed, such as a museum, library, or concert venue.
Holding degrees in both fine art and psychology, I can understand, at least to some degree, how art can affect, preserve, and display emotion, and how we can interpret and project meaning from art. Art is a beautiful and meaningful illustration of life. In the words of the late, great, French artist Marcel Duchamp, "Society takes what it wants. The artist himself does not count because there is no actual existence for the work of art. The work of art is always based on the two poles of the onlooker and the maker, and the spark that comes from the bipolar action gives birth to something, like electricity. But the onlooker has the last word and it is always posterity that makes the masterpiece. The artist should not concern himself with this, because it has nothing to do with him."

Learn more about this author, Marlowe Mari.
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