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The Modern Mentality Regarding the View of Art

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Just a moment ago, as I walked through the shelves of a library and saw the books lined up neatly in their place, a question arose; what were these books in regard to their place in the world? With their rows of letters and series of words, what could they represent? How do people see these bounded pieces of paper? In a very general sense, they represent a type of art. "Art", as defined by the New Oxford American Dictionary, is "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination . . . producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power." The majority of people would accept this as a good idea of what art is; but really, what is art to us? Is it a good picture? Is it a catchy tune? Or is it …show more content…

Inside their ears attached to these

wires are two tiny speakers blaring noise onto your eardrums. What is the noise being

produced by these "headphones"? The modern term for it is "music". The word music,

though, comes from the Latin word that means "the art of Muse". Muse means to

reflect, to be absorbed in thought. Are we "absorbed in thought" as we're listening to

our headphones? Of course not. Music has become something that, instead of musing

upon, we have begun to place in the background of our world, in the gray area of our day.

Many of us would claim not to "have time" to muse upon the music we listen to, and this

is probably true. Because of the way our modern world works, nobody is going to set

aside time to do this. Instead, they prefer to do something else much more stimulating

and rewarding. We forget to stop and look at the world in its beauty and at who we are as

An overstimulation of our brains has numbed us to the subtle,

sophisticated beauty of true art. Technology, a fast-paced lifestyle, and the overall

“advancement” of modern day society have engulfed our senses in a tide of hyper- stimulation. Just like a drug, it takes more and more to satisfy our needs. Frederick J.

Zimmerman, PhD, assistant professor of health services and co-director of the Child

Health Institute at the University of Washington, Seattle,

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