Artists constantly get discouraged from pursuing their skills after high school and making it their career. Time and time again, you’ll hear it’s not a good idea, it’s not worth the time, it doesn’t make enough money or it’s simply unimportant. But that’s all wrong. 

Deciding to go into art school is no lesser than any other choice, whether you decide to study science, math or language. Art isn’t something everyone is good at, just like other subjects. If you’re not good at math, people may say you’re unintelligent, but if you’re not good at art it’s okay because “it’s not cut out for everybody.” Why are the two viewed differently? Both are skills that require years of practice and should be regarded with the same amount of respect.

All the time, you hear about how incredibly famous and important people were originally turned down. Claude Monet, a french painter, faced severe backlash over some of his artwork due to it being “unrecognizable”. Today, his paintings are widely known as the founding pieces for French Impressionism. If he had listened to the influx of negativity given to him by art critiques, an entire style of art would be completely different. Considering today’s judgmental society, there’s bound to be mass amounts of talented and skilled artists that get discouraged and never refine their skills due to being discouraged early on.

If you’re still not convinced, think about it. Every single movie you’ve seen, every t-shirt you’ve worn and every billboard you’ve passed by on the highway have an artist behind them. Architecture, website design, book covers…the list goes on. So, to say that art is unimportant is simply making an uneducated (and incorrect) claim. Almost everyone indulges in the arts every single day, so those who frown upon artists are instantly hypocritical. 

Art is what keeps the world moving. It’s truly wonderful how visual pieces can convey different ideologies and expressions. Even if you’re not a creativity-driven person, other artists can be inspiring to you and your work. In a world without art, there would be no expression, culture, or cultivation of ideas. The world would be a dim, grey place only focused on work, efficiency and results. Buildings would be colorless and shapeless blocks, everyone would wear bland clothing and any trace of uniqueness would be gone. 

One might ask: “so what about making money?” Surprisingly, not every artist lives in a dirt hut and eats cup-o-ramen. Depending on the type of degree, artists have a chance of earning up to a six-figure salary. With that being said, money is not the most important factor when deciding what career you’ll choose, but whether it’s a career that you’ll enjoy. 

It should be clear that artists are important to our society and our day-to-day lives. Believing otherwise is simply a denial of the truth, yet people continue to turn a blind eye to the true beauty of art.