While living through major catastrophes like the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Helene, I struggled to make the argument that art is necessary for survival. When it comes to what feels like the apocalypse, after all, it’s hard to equate making art with things like farming, engineering, and a multitude of other useful skills. It’s true that the human race (at least in this modernized society) would not survive in the short term without those necessary skills. But I believe that art is absolutely necessary for survival in the long term, just in a different way.
Art Raises the Bottom Line
Take someone who is unhappy, ineffective, and unwhole, for example. What good does a depressed person offer to society? They can’t offer much in that state. But because we live in a civilization, resources are given to that person to help them survive in the short term. Yet instead, art could potentially heal them permanently, transforming them into someone who is able to contribute and create.
Yes, art has that kind of power; it grants us the power to move through suffering, to meet our shadow, and to allow outcasted parts to come home. The more healed people are, the fewer who need welfare and other social services. Art literally raises the bottom line of society through its healing effects.
These were the arguments I would tell myself, as I longed for art to be seen by society – as I longed for myself to be seen by society – as something just as valuable as a trade. And these reasons are good and valid. However, here is another idea that we maybe haven’t considered yet.
The Key to Human Evolution
Take what I’m about to say next with a grain of salt, because obviously it is a strong generalization and there are frequent exceptions. In my experience, people who are drawn to making art tend to be, at best, quite unhappy (which is why they need art), and at worst, quite miserable at any other occupation (usually due to neurodivergence). But they still pursue other occupations because society has told them that their art is not valuable and won’t provide them money for their survival. This is how malinformed, internalized cultural biases block creatives’ inner light and create depressed people.
First, I should define what I mean by “inner light.” Inner light is, in essence, the soul and its creativity. It is a person’s potential, representing what their spirit is here to offer. (What a spirit has to offer could be many things and not just art, such as scientific study, engineering, tradesmanship, entrepreneurship, etc. – for these things are all creative, too.) This inner light grows brighter when fed experiences that bring it joy and pleasure. It grows darker when denied joy and pleasure. A person can never lose their inner light. However, it may grow so dim that they effectively resemble a walking dead.
Now, I believe this inner light is the key to evolution. Our species is really quite incredible, if you think about it. Look back on human history for a moment. We evolved from apes, essentially, and developed technology – how?
Through our creativity.
We drew paintings on cave walls and divined about ethereal beings when we were barely more than monkeys. Each act of creativity brought us closer to where we are now. I believe humanity evolved to be so successful, proliferating across the entire planet, precisely because of our advanced ability to create through play. This inner light is what led us all the way to this point in our evolution.
How did I come to believe this?
Well, I had to ask myself, why do I have this inner light? What purpose does it serve? Is its purpose merely to be a reminder of how much I hate my day job? Merely here to represent a contrast between what I wish to do and what I must do? Here to make life miserable? Is life supposed to be miserable? And I did believe this for such a long, long time…
But no, life is not supposed to be miserable. Here’s how I know this: The more I follow the inner light, the more I slowly start to believe that life is actually supposed to be joyful. Life actually wants joy for us.
Life can be a scary, sad place. AND it doesn’t have to be.
This creative inner light serves the same purpose as a compass. It shows us where we need to go, for our own survival. With this understanding, we can reframe depression as just the calling of a dimmed soul. It’s not here to remind us how much life is supposed to suck. It’s here to remind us that life can be so much better, if we just start to follow it.
If the inner light sounds like a spiritual concept, it is. But it also doesn’t have to be. It’s grounded in science, too. (Another misconception in our Western culture is that spirituality and science are at odds; rarely, in fact, are they not fully in alignment with one another, revealing the same mystery through unique perspectives.) Don’t believe me? Go ahead and read up on studies about creativity in human evolution and the healing effects of art for individuals and communities.
Useless?
So I ask myself again why I have this inner light. I ask myself, if art doesn’t contribute to human survival, then what use is the artist to society? What use am I…? Art is the only thing I am capable of. Am I just…useless? Is who I am at my core simply incapable, simply not fit for survival?
Then I think about how many individuals and ancestors had to live and reproduce successfully since the days of the apes in order for me to exist. I am literally the result of thousands of years of evolution – and evolution only chooses the fittest to survive.
Sorry, capitalists, but evolution has had the final say: If artists exist, then it means we are fit for survival. Which means: we are important for survival.
This inner light must have been built into us through evolution. Why else would we have it? If art-making was truly responsible for making individuals useless and not fit for survival, then artists would simply have ceased to exist.
The Fittest Are Creative
So why does evolution favor the existence of artists and art-making?
Because art is necessary for survival in the long term, not just the short term.
Art ensures the longevity of the human race as a whole, not just immediate survival for a single individual. Why? Because art heals. It processes and dissolves trauma. It prevents the passing down of trauma through epigenetics. It teaches lessons that help us to be better people and live fuller, happier, more effective lives. It rehabilitates those who are lost and depressed. It raises society’s bottom line. And it facilitates healing and connection-building within entire communities. And we know that no one survives long in the wild without the belonging and support of a community.
The Survival Power of Art
In 2020, at the height of the pandemic, I saw a lot of people talking about how art is not “essential,” and many interpreted that to mean it is not necessary for survival. Perhaps, those who actually believe this are just short-sighted, focused on the short term. Or maybe they lack the humility to acknowledge the innate survival power in healing, connection, and community — all of which art facilitates.
So, if you are ever made to doubt whether your art is important, or whether art as a whole is important, take comfort in knowing that thousands of years of evolution have occurred in favor of you and your voice existing.