The Arts

At DHS, the arts department includes G, Mr. Mitchell, Ms. Hoshizaki and Ms. Palermo.

The Arts are an expression of the human spirit.

We can say that the human spirit is the essence of who we are as individuals. The human spirit encompasses our aspirations, our fears, the satisfaction or the dissatisfaction of our lives or the lives of others. It includes what we perceive as the justice or the injustice in the treatment of ourselves, other humans or other living beings.

The Arts, in all of their different channels, represent a crying out of our passion. Humans have expressed their passion in the media of a paintbrush, charcoal, and egg tempera. We have used the chisel to create sculptures out of stone. We have written emotional plays that act out our state of mind. We write and sing love songs, we create musical instruments from wood and blow into a brass mouthpiece. Using wooden sticks, we strike a drum made of tightly woven animal skin. We have continued to create, developing new media such as photography, film and the World Wide Web.

Art is a reflection of society. Art has had a significant impact on religion, politics and education. Certain forms of art have been restricted or banned in those societies that limit free speech and free expression. The Arts have been used to propagate certain political and religious beliefs. They serve as a voice that notifies the scientist about the possible dangers of technology. On the other hand, the Arts can lead to innovative breakthroughs in science and technology by showing the scientist how better our world can be. Finally, many different philosophies such as existentialism have given birth to new forms of expression in art and literature.

The purpose of art is not to simply demonstrate beauty in various forms. Art can also be informative, perplexing, offensive or inspirational. An artist may tell us how she discerns the world and then guide us to how the world should be.

Finally, a number of inspirational quotes about art:

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time”. Thomas Merton.

The principles of true art is not to portray, but to evoke”. Jerry Kosinski.

The technician works with his hands. The engineer works with his hands and his brain. The artist works with her hands, her brain, and her heart”.