The Hard Question of Art

Leading design group, Metahaven, on what is art in the 21st Century

The Hard Question of Art questions our assumptions of what art is today and sets out new ways of thinking creatively for the future. In these complicated times, when the power to change things seems out of our grasp, we put a huge weight on art to transform the world; but how? Does beauty matter? Does Art have a moral purpose? As scientists map our brains when we look at a painting, what do these flashing synapses tell us about these signals? Can you tell the difference between work produced by an artist or an AI? Is the murmuration of birds a form of creativity? Does the price a work sells for on the market reference its quality? What is the point if art can’t reverse climate change?

Metahaven argue that, in this urgent age, we need to rethink what art does in the world – for the creator, the viewer, the owner. Art is a means of communion. We should stop asking whether we think it is ‘good’ or not. It is what moves us and can therefore become the means through which change can happen.