Web Exclusives: Comparative Life
a PAW web exclusive column by By Kristen Albertsen '02 (email: albertsn@princeton.edu)

April 24 , 2002:
Whither art?
Science seems to be the end-all these days

By Kristen Albertsen '02

You see it everywhere: on the news, in the papers, headlining the topics of on-campus lectures, hovering over the dinner tables of students and faculty alike. Political Science. Not in the traditional meaning of the phrase, but rather as the conflation of the scientific and the political. The politics of cloning. The science of building a missile shield. The legal loopholes of the Internet. The forensics of piecing together Enron and its aftermath.

Even arenas that have in the past been considered outside, or even above, the political sphere are becoming embroiled in the secular: the political implications of the sex scandal in the Catholic church or the wildlife refuge in Alaska (don’t call me a Democrat — drilling in Alaska should not even be debated in Congress, much less seriously considered). Similarly, objects that had previously been viewed as works of mystical genius, such the art of Leonardo da Vinci, are being methodically deconstructed by science.

They called September 11 the End of Irony, but what about the End of the Arts? Does art have any place anymore, squeezed between headlines about the latest bombing in the Middle East or footnoted to September 11 commentary on the six o’clock news? Does art deserve any funding anymore by institutions such as Princeton, renowned for its Engineering and Woodrow Wilson Schools, for its famous scientists and infamous legislators? With the recent (and perhaps short-lived) exception of the religion/African-American Studies department, Princeton has committed itself to disproportionate funding of the engineering, chemistry, physics, and molecular biology departments. And well it should. Certainly no one is arguing that divining Shakespeare’s true identity is more important than discovering a cure for cancer.

But the arts still occupy an extremely important, indeed essential, position in contemporary society. In a world that continues to be fragmented by social and political inequalities, religious differences, and even the Internet, the arts have never been more essential in tying us all together — in reminding us that, despite the disparate parts of the world in which we live or the disparate gods we worship, many human experiences and emotions are the same. The love one feels for a spouse may be akin to that which another feels for his homeland, and the pride one feels for her child or career may be what another feels for her culture. Different objects, same emotions. Various means of expression — music, literature, interactive installations, sidewalk murals — same experiences.

And what happens if we don’t find a cure for cancer in the next decade, before a family member or close friend succumbs to the disease? In a world where established religions are under increasing fire and everyone seems to prefer a personalized spirituality with these — but not those — options, where can we turn for comfort? It seems that the bosom of common human experience, expressed in art throughout the ages, offers solace.

It’s not just the study of old art that reveals truths universal but the creation of new art as well. New art is an important means of expression of new emotions: feelings of loneliness in a vast and globalized society, of alienation in a world populated increasingly by objects and virtual realities. Furthermore, it is through these new forms of art that we may communicate with one another. We can say something not through propaganda but, instead, through poetry; we can strike a chord with not a scientific but, rather, a musical instrument. No, art is not a cure-all, a holy grail, or a Fountain of Solutions. It is, however, a new way to look at old problems. Because not even politics can crack every wall, or science traverse every abyss.

You can reach Kristen at albertsn@princeton.edu