Why Is It Always Art?

Front page headline.

Funding cuts to local schools… Art programs scaled back. Funding is at an all-time low.

Why is it always art that gets cut? Seriously. Every time schools run out of money, the first headline is "Sorry, kids. No more art class.”

It’s never math. Oh no—nobody ever says,  “Sorry folks, no more polynomials, no more SOH-CAH-TOA triangles.” You need to figure out the hypotenuse on your own. Which, by the way, in my sixty years of circling the sun, I have never once needed. Not once has a cashier at the grocery store asked me to solve for x before I could buy bananas.

But art? Why art? Art’s everywhere. As I sit in this hotel room and look around. The cowboy print on the hotel wall? Art. The fancy frame? Art. The wavy carpet pattern that looks like it was designed after too many margaritas? Definitely art.

Your Pepsi can? Art. Your vodka bottle? Art. Your Solo cup? Oh, don’t even get me started. Solo cups are practically a design icon. Even my son’s wedding suit was art. Sure, a fashion designer made it, but a tailor turned it into something wearable. Tailoring is an art form. Trust me, without it, I’d look like a kid playing dress-up in my dad’s closet.

And then there’s billboards, Movies and all of music. Album covers. Have you ever seen a boring Pink Floyd cover? No! Hypnosis made album art so good it’s still tattooed on people 50 years later. Try doing that with a polynomial.

And yet—every time—art gets the axe. Schools go, "Well, who needs creativity when you can memorize a quadratic formula?" Here’s the truth: everything around you was touched by an artist. Your car. Your toaster. Your clothes.. Ships, planes, TV shows. Heck, even your TV. Movies, sets, movie posters, and the box your popcorn came in. Your phone. Even that overpriced charger cable? Yes! Designed by someone who, I promise you, had an art teacher once upon a time. The whole world is art!

So let’s stop treating art like the garnish on education’s plate. It’s not parsley. It’s the main dish. If anything, math should be optional. Teach art first. And if you’ve got budget left over, sure—then we’ll tackle SOH-CAH-TOA.

Keep those brushes swinging

Your friend in art,

Doug.

And from cars to walls and pots to dolls, I now, for your viewing enjoyment, give you 4 videos of crafts peeps plying their trade to bring you a world of pleasure.

The wallpaper one is a bit long but quite exquisite.