What Are the Functions of Art? I. Context of functions — Artist Where and when His or her【T1】_____【T1】______ — Viewer

What Are the Functions of Art?
Good morning, everyone. Today, I am going to touch upon the issue of functions of art. As we all know, our life is not without the existence of art. But what are the functions of art, anyway? In today’s lecture, I will first of all give you the context of functions of art and then I will explain personal function, social and physical functions of art.
First, let’s proceed with this caution: No piece of art can be "assigned" a function or functions, either in essay form or in casual conversation, if it isn’t first considered within the proper context. Trying to classify function depends on context. Ideally, one can look at a piece and know approximately where it came from and when. The best-case scenario includes identifying the artist, as well, because he/she is half of the contextual equation,[1]i.e. What was the artist thinking at the time he/she created this? You, the viewer, are the other half, i. e. What does this piece of art mean to you, living right now? These are all factors that should be considered before trying to assign functions. Besides, taking anything out of context can lead to misunderstanding, which is never a happy place to visit. That being said, the functions of art normally fall within three categories. These are personal, social or physical functions. These categories can, and often do, overlap in any given piece of art.
The physical functions of art are most easily dealt with.[2]Works of art that are created to perform some service have physical functions.[3]If you see a Fijian war club you may assume that, however wonderful the craftsmanship may be, it was created to perform the physical function of smashing skulls. A Japanese raku bowl is art that performs a physical function in the tea ceremony. Conversely, a fur-covered teacup from the Dada movement has no physical function.[4]Architecture, any of the crafts and industrial design are all types of art that have physical functions.
Thirdly, the social functions of art. Art has social functions when it addresses aspects of collective life, as opposed to one person’s point of view or experience. For example, public art in 1930s Germany had an overwhelming symbolic theme. Did this art exert influence on the German population? Decidedly so. As did political and patriotic posters in allied countries during the same period of time. Some artists are interested in the freedom to solve special problems of style or technique. Others use style and technique to express their social and political views.[5]They may speak of their artistic responsibility: art does not exist merely to entertain,[6]it must guide and instruct; it must improve our collective existence. Political art skewed to whatever message always carries a social function.[7]The fur-covered Dada teacup, useless for holding tea, carried a social function in that it protested World War I and nearly everything else in life.[8]Art that depicts social conditions performs social functions. The Realists figured this out early in the 19th century. Dorothea Lange and, indeed, many other photographers often photographed people in conditions we’d rather not think about. Additionally, satire performs social functions. Francisco Goya and William Hogarth both went this route, with varying degrees of success at enacting social change.[9]The social function of satire is to ridicule people and institutions so that they will change, or, at least, stop what they are doing. Satire has roots in our fascination with the grotesque, and making grotesque images of real or imagined people is a universal practice.
[10]Finally, the personal functions of art are the most difficult to explain in any great detail. There are many of them, and they vary from person to person.[11]An artist may create out of a need for self-expression, or gratification. He or she might have wanted to communicate a thought or point to the viewer.[12]Perhaps the artist was trying to provide an aesthetic experience, both for self and viewers. A piece might have been meant to "merely" entertain others. Sometimes a piece isn’t meant to have any meaning at all. This is vague, I know. The above is a great example of how knowing the artist can help one "cut to the chase" and assign functions. On a slightly loftier plane, art may serve the personal functions of control. Art has been used to attempt to exert magical control over time, or the seasons or even the acquisition of food. Art is used to bring order to a messy and disorderly world. Conversely, art can be used to create chaos when an artist feels life is too staid and ordinary. Art can also be therapeutic —for both the artist and the viewer.[13]Yet another personal function of art is that of religious service. Lots of examples for this, aren’t there?[14]Lastly, sometimes art is used to assist us in maintaining ourselves as a species. Biological functions would obviously include fertility symbols in any culture, but I would also invite scrutiny of the ways we adorn ourselves in order to be attractive enough to, well, mate. You, the viewer, are half of the equation in assigning function to art—as mentioned earlier.[15]These personal functions apply to you, as well as the artist. It all adds up to literally billions of variables when trying to figure out the personal functions of art.
All right, let me recap the four points required to describe "the functions of art":(1)context of functions,(2)personal functions,(3)social functions and(4)physical functions. I hope you will have a better and fresher understanding about art by now.