The little book, How Art Can Make You Happy by Bridget Watson Payne, shows how art can bring happiness to our lives and even change our perspectives.
It makes the case that although art may not always be happy, pretty or even comfortable, it can make us aware of three important realities: the reality of the world, the reality of other people and the reality of ourselves.
Why art matters
Art holds the promise that, if we allow ourselves, it can help us to see beyond our own limitations. “Art lets you imagine a window, allowing you to speak to anyone in the world, living or dead and ask them what life was like for them. How they saw the world. And they would show you… they would turn their own innermost beings inside out and show you what it was like to be them and only them – their feelings, their perceptions, their preoccupations, their very selves,” writes Payne. (Read the journal here.)
“You need to let the little things that would ordinarily bore you suddenly thrill you.”
– Andy Warhol
