Art as a Foreign Language

 I have been creating Art forever, but until recently I didn’t let it take the space it needs in my life. It’s never enough, but it used to be relegated to the broom closet, and now it has a room in the house . My “real” job was to teach a Foreign Language. Lately, while musing about art, I’ve come to realize that those two disciplines have a lot more in common that I ever realized.

One thing that is very similar is how both disciplines are considered superfluous in our society.  They’re not required, underfunded and deemed unimportant.  And yet all of me want to scream that Art and Foreign Languages are essential to a functioning society. 

Even if you’re never going to set foot in a foreign country, learning a Foreign Language is a transformative experience, because you suddenly realize that there are other ways to live, and that what you always took for granted is not the only way to do something.  It’s crucial if you want people from different backgrounds to live in harmony, especially in the US which used to pride itself about being an immigrant’s country.   And you don’t need to get fluent either.   In the first few weeks of learning French, you are taught the days of the week, and realize that, unlike in the US which starts the week on Sunday, French calendars start on Monday. It might seem like a very small difference, and it is, but it shifts the way you look at things. Literally, if you are looking at a calendar. Of course there is no right and wrong , it’s not important which day starts the week but what is important is to realize that entire societies do things differently and it works just fine ( and since Sunday is part of the week-END, why is it at the start of the week? Just saying….)  After learning this, my students could not see the world in the same way and one of them told me: “ I get upset now every time I want to write my plans for the week-end on my calendar because I write on Saturday and then I have to go to the start of the next row to write on Sunday. It’s a pain!”

The Tower of Babel by Bruegel the Elder. I was never sure how I feel about this parable because speaking different languages is described as a punishment and I see it as a wonderful opportunity. Diversity is awesome, life would be so boring if we were all similar.

Like a Foreign Language, Art allows you to experience the world differently.  You can see the way other people look at the world through their Art, and it’s different from yours.  Both Languages and Art open your mind to alternatives, as well as literature for example. It teaches you to consider other points of views.

They both allow you to understand other people.   Foreign Languages are what you need to reach out to people from a different culture, language and value and get on their turf.  Art is the same way, in that when you look at someone’s else art, you have to learn their language in order to understand what they are saying through their art. Artists are developing a personal language (and it might take a lifetime for the artists themselves to get fluent in it) that each person viewing their art will have to learn. That’s the reason some artists don’t “speak” to us, we just don’t understand their language. And that’s OK. But your life is fuller if you find the Art that speaks to you, whether your own or someone else’s.

Art is a language and like any languages, it can be hard to learn.

As a Language teacher I always get annoyed at people who say “I’m not gifted at languages” and thus do not bother learning. There are plenty of people around the world who are not gifted at languages and yet find themselves in an environment where they don’t have a choice but to learn a new language and muddle through. It’s important to try and even if you’re never fluent, you will be a better person (and I’m not even going into the studies that show that learning a Foreign Language makes you smarter and ward off Alzheimer).

Similarly, being “bad” at Art (whatever that means) is not an excuse. You don’t have to be Picasso to paint. Everyone deserves to express oneself through art. The benefits to your well-being are amazing. And eventually, you will get better (and even if you don’t, it doesn’t matter. Being good is not the point).

I understand the reluctance. Learning something new -be it a Foreign Language or the language of art- puts you in a position of weakness while you’re learning, it feels uncomfortable and unwielding, it makes you feel inadequate.  But if you stick with it, you will experience so much more!

  It could even save your life! Art Therapy allows people to express their pain and deal with trauma. Because they can’t find the real words to describe what they feel, they create their own language through art.   Art allows you to express things you don’t even KNOW you are feeling.

Both Languages and Art take you on a journey. Languages allow you to discover entire cultures, but Art makes you discover the vibrant inner life of each individual, including yourself. It’s all about discovery and acceptance.  It’s great!   It should be compulsory! 

STEM gets all the credit because it gave us Smart Phones and Modern Medicine, and sure, those are nice. But if we want to create a society where people can actually live together in peace and harmony, Art and Foreign Languages are much better starting points.

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What Ceramics teaches you about life

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Boredom and Fear