We live in an age of advanced technology and modern adaptability, but does that necessarily make for a fulfilling life? We are a society obsessed with convenience, efficiency, and the consummation of everything these ideals create to whatever end. With constant change and development of technology at a breakneck speed, we are experiencing a widespread monoculture of thoughts, ideas, and norms as our individual, nuanced lives are boiled down to algorithms and silos of data. How do we break down these silos and cultivate our own unique joy?
Grappling With Cultural Homogeneity
The digital age has ushered in an incredible opportunity to lower barriers to access, create, and share art and culture, but this comes with other challenges. AI and current technologies are designed to regurgitate the same information and experiences over and over again in a homogenized format. The result is that when an algorithm recognizes an interest, the user is shown the same or similar content repeatedly until there is an illusion that a particular style, aesthetic, or idea is the only one available to them, or the only one that can be true. Consequently, houses are built, styled, and decorated in the same exact way, colorways become oppressively rigid, and everything on an Instagram feed starts to look identical. AI is a remarkable advance that can provide tremendous benefit to society, but we must remind ourselves that technology can’t ask the questions that we should be asking ourselves. That’s where nurturing critical thinking, creativity, and empathy in ourselves and in our communities becomes essential.
The humanities don’t teach us what to think, but they help us ask the right questions, empathize with others, and build connections within ourselves and our communities.
Fostering a spirit of creativity and supporting art and its creators helps us keep in touch with our humanity, not to mention our well-being. After all, what’s the point of having the world under our actual fingertips if we continually feel depressed and, by some reports, unhappier than ever? When it comes to digesting a near-constant information deluge, technology has no problem providing the “what” but it sorely misses the mark on the “why”. Especially as we encounter constant mismatches in information and ideologies extremified in digital echo chambers, we need to be reaching for empathy and understanding more than ever. The humanities don’t teach us what to think, but they help us ask the right questions, empathize with others, and build connections within ourselves and our communities. Art places our humanity at the forefront, and that’s why we need to cultivate it in our daily lives and communities.
Building Empathy and Community
I recently re-connected with a friend who told me about a community grant she received earlier this year. A creative dance enthusiast, she led an open dance exercise in the middle of the desert. Participants were encouraged to listen and react to the sounds they heard in the arid desert and react expressively with their body movements. She used the grant funds to hire a photographer to document the experience, and she will use the photographs for an installation at her local art center, including nature sounds recorded by her. I was especially moved by her initiative to meaningfully serve her community, connecting people to nature and their bodies.
A one-time dance experience doesn’t necessarily change the world at large, but its importance starts with creating a moment when a group of people are put in an unfamiliar situation and have to consider an idea outside of themselves. Art opens our senses and compels us to consider new ideas: a jumping point rather than a stopping point. Could these be useful skills when breaking through information bias? Or when confronting peer pressure in an effort to figure out what actually makes us happy? If we recognize these benefits then we recognize the need to support public initiatives and grant programs that support these kinds of local offerings as well as support artists individually. We can invest in art and culture by making it a regular practice and partaking in it at every opportunity.
Creativity As A Daily Practice
"The way you live your life can also be a form of creative expression, for creativity is present within all of us, and a little effort in the small, everyday things has the potential to bring surprising transformations." - Jamie Beck
Bringing art into our lives doesn’t have to be fancy. It does its greatest work for us when we show up for it in a real way instead of a performative way. The irony of technology is that we can share and experience art in more ways than ever, but sometimes we fall prey to seeking validation and trendy aesthetics more so than the simple practice of celebrating beauty when it moves us. In daily life, opportunities abound to express our creativity or at least notice it when we encounter it. From the clothes we boldly wear, to the food we experiment with, to the brave choice to try to make something ourselves with the materials we have on hand - all can point to more satisfying, fulfilling lives.
Creativity and culture don't solve all our modern woes, but it can bring clarity and joy. When we fill our lives with things that inspire beauty, contemplation, and open-ended questions, we are less enamored by monotony and instead aspire toward richer truths. Art and culture can significantly impact our well-being, connect us to our purposes and intentions, and re-orient us with an ever-changing world. As we try to find our balance between the digital and physical worlds, let’s find it by re-discovering what is most real to us through the creative expression of the human experience.
