What is art? To me, art entails a sense of beauty, truth, faith, hope, joy, and love. I interpret each of these elements as the following: beauty is in the eyes of beholders; truth, faith, and hope could be subjected to individual perspectives; love and joy could entail both the selfish and the selfless love for the greater good, while the latter should be able to propel humanity towards harmony and a brighter future. Regardless of various interpretations, these elements seem to share the universal yearning and search for eternal hope, peace, and happiness. As such, there must be a certain level of absolute truth to art that can be universal. 

Humans are born with the eye, the ear, the six senses and the natural inclination for beautiful and pleasurable visual objects, sounds, and touches. Although art does not fulfill our basic physical needs, it can enhance and stimulate our six senses, creating different context of thoughts and feelings. Therefore, art also has the incredible ability to enhance our sense of humanity, compassion, our understanding of the world, and the pursuit of eternal truth. 

Art is also a mean of communication. Similar to what we experience with music, art can help people communicate across cultures, genders, races, and time. For example, we can understand better how ancient people living thousands of years ago conducted their lives and what they thought were beautiful and important through the drawings and etchings on their ceramic works. Thus, art can also be treated as an artist’s diary, visually recording what s/he experienced during his/her lifetime, with the artist’s own interpretations, which, when done well, can present the whole world into one piece of handiwork! Isn’t that fascinating? 

There is something universal in art across all cultures and time. Art can bring us closer to understanding humanity and show us how we can learn from the past and make improvements for our future. It can also facilitate some of our quest for harmony, peace, and love. The journey in itself can miraculously improve our living conditions, mentally and physically. As part of the pieces of puzzles that put the world together, it is all the more exciting that I get to use visual images to explore, convey, and praise life.