This post I will be writing about is my opinion on whether art really distorts reality and if it is useful or not.
Art isn't always reality. The purpose of art isn't to depict reality - it is to transform reality into something more interesting and meaningful. And the only way to do so is to distort, exaggerate, or in some way embellish reality.
Super normal stimuli excites us more than reality does. All human beings and organisms heighten emotional response to exaggeration.
Skilled artists know how to capture the nature of their subjects by amplifying the qualities that make that subject distinct or noteworthy. An experienced painter knows how to use exaggeration to evoke the desired response. For example the white of shimmering moonlight on the ocean or the yellow of the sun grazing the tops of the trees. In Vincent Van Gogh’s starry night, his exaggeration of colour and movement is so emotionally powerful it’s nearly impossible to stand in front of it and not weep.
The painter Alice Neel is known for her use of exaggerated line. She employs it very specifically to draw the viewer's eye and make them feel. Picasso chose to exaggerate by flattening perspective and quite literally cubing the human form.
Cubism, surrealism, hyper-realism, impressionism, expressionism, virtually all movements in art are rooted in distinct forms of exaggeration. All art forms are a type of exaggeration. Music is an exaggeration of sound, dance, an exaggeration of movement, and great-story telling relies on embellishment.
Reality can be tedious. Day to day life often consists in large part of mundane tasks and superficial conversation. To express it through art, you can't just paint the reality on a canvas. there needs to be creativity, imagination, exaggeration and even distorting reality. It helps in getting viewers attention and reaction
To conclude, Picasso once said "Art is the lie that reveals the truth". Art doesn’t just imitate life, it exaggerates and transforms life.
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