Arts debate

Leading British curator Norman Rosenthal tells us what he values about the arts

08 March 2007 by Jo Saucek 1 comments

Norman Rosenthal, Exhibitions Secretary at the Royal Academy of Arts, has been behind some of the most important contemporary art exhibitions of recent years; Sensation and Apocolypse Now. He tells us what he values about the arts, and why he thinks they're so important.

"For myself, the arts, in all their many aspects, appealing as they do to all the different senses - intellectual, visual, musical, literary, theatrical - represent the best aspects of human beings and their existence in this world. Of course, there are other important issues, particularly social ones, that need to be addressed by all human beings. But the arts are much more than the icing on the cake.

At their very best, they should give all people a sense of their own place in the general scheme of the world, while manifesting the extraordinary creative achievements of people from all over the world and throughout the ages. The history of the world is full of terrible tragedies and atrocities - many self-inflicted - but outstanding pieces of art [painting and sculpture etc], architecture, music, literature, film, theatre, dance and performance in all its aspects, demonstrate that human beings are capable of wonderful things as well. For me, philosophy and even the religions of the world are at their best art forms, insofar as they demonstrate mankind's capacity for imagination in the face of the wonders of the world and the larger universe.

Science, perhaps, provides some of the answers but we also know that ultimately the world as we know it will one day surely come to an end, though not before a long time has elapsed. As individuals we are privileged to be on this planet for a very short time span, which perhaps through the arts, whether as practitioners, participants or just observers, that we can possibly feel a sense of permanence that goes a little beyond ourselves. To stand in front of a wonderful painting, to listen to a great piece of music or to read a splendidly imaginative piece of writing, should be a transporting experience. That experience can and should be critically analysed but there also comes a point when that strange thing called the aura of art takes over and transports us to a special sphere within our own selves, which hopefully can also be shared by others.

The arts too represent a civilising process as far as mankind is concerned. This, of course, is a contentious issue. Dictators have after all often used the arts for their own purposes and not always in the greater interest. But in general it is fair to say that it is better that works of art exist than do not exist. They leave behind traces which are always interesting and potentially enriching. The arts should be encouraged and supported by all, whether privately or through the public purse as indeed they mostly have been in the past."

Do you agree with Norman? What do you value about the arts?