LOVE “the most beautiful form of ART”
An inspiration for creatives over the years, love has been the most featured subject in different forms of art ranging from paintings, music, films, poems, books. Exceptional art pieces/works that have remained captivating over the years came to life when different people tried expressing love or their opinions on the subject matter. Among the countless alluring art pieces is “The Mona Lisa” by Leonardo Da Vinci which is arguably the most famous painting in the world and Da Vinci’s greatest masterpiece. The 16th century portrait has stirred speculations of Da Vinci’s love for a woman named Lisa Gherardini.
Love has remained an unresolved mystery throughout the ages making it an eternal fountain of inspiration for artists. I believe that part of the reason why love is one of the most used themes for art is the fact that everyone has a different understanding on the subject as a result we keep seeking for a way to express what it means for us. So, what is love for you? No, I do not mean the marketed version of love.
Abraham Maslow was an American psychologist renowned for creating Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (1943–1954). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is a theory of psychological health based on a five-tier model of human needs comprising of physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness and love needs, esteem needs and self-actualization.
According to Maslow, these needs describe the pattern through which human motivation generally moves. Maslow depicted that love is one of the most fundamental human needs. He explained that humans possess an affective need for a sense of belonging and acceptance.
It is this need for interpersonal relationships that makes love a brilliant marketing strategy. Marketers have embraced it and incorporated it as a strategy for attracting consumers to different packages offered by the entertainment industry, hotels and restaurants, online dating sites among others.
The downside to marketed love is that it establishes uniform ways to love. Therefore, when people think of love, they attach it to expectations brought as a result of the idea of love that has been subconsciously implanted. This is why the notion that romantic movies tend to ruin love for people is quite accurate because they set out rather unrealistic expectations.
If you have never thought of what love means to you, here’s your chance. What most people tend to overlook is that the concept of love is different for everyone. In my attempt to discover what it means to me; I came to the conclusion that love is the most beautiful form of art. It is a unique expression of our thoughts, emotions, intuitions, and desires because at the heart of every artist is a sincere desire to communicate.
Love, like art, is entirely personal to the one who lays claim to it — It is an expression of the artist. A sculptor may learn different techniques and styles to improve his art, but to be exceptional, he must learn to create art of his own. Love works in a similar way. It is not passive but rather a product of what you put into it. We can learn all about it, but to become artists of our own we need to deliberately practice, experiment, fail and learn in order to hone our craft.
“Painting is poetry that is seen rather than felt, and poetry is painting that is felt rather than seen” ~Leonardo Da Vinci
Like art, we need to embrace how different each of us expresses love because it is in our unique ways of expressing love that we can truly share it with other people.
