What is the Purpose of Art?

Art is entwined with magic and religion, power and passion.

It is hitched to history, engaging with burning issues; shaping and shaped by historical trends and happenings. It has also had political uses, as in Soviet constructivist art, aimed at reinforcing and glorifying communism. The Surrealists thought of themselves as revolutionaries. Feminist artists have challenged ‘the male gaze’ and images of masculine experience. From Egyptian tomb art to avant-garde work today, art tells stories of creativity and social change. In galleries small and large, in every city you may visit, artworks old and new engage the eye, the imagination and the soul.