People who strive for artistic jobs tend to be looked down upon, when in actuality these dream jobs are just as serious as any other career.
Photo By: Erin King, Photographer.

By: Natalie Lambert, Content Manager

Whenever the question regarding future employment is mentioned, those going into an artistic field are commonly faced with responses ranging from negative to flat out disapproval. Due to an adverse outlook on what the world calls “artsy jobs,” many students looking to major in fields such as dance or music composition are not taken as seriously as students who may wish to become the world’s next doctors or lawyers.

[Artists] “contributions to society are for entertainment purposes which aren’t necessary whereas goods are,” says senior Alyssa Eatherly.

While it is fair to say that some jobs may hold an acute value over others, it isn’t necessarily right to assume that because someone doesn’t want to be the next brain surgeon, they should be looked down on for their job career.

What some people don’t realize is how important things such as art, music, and theater are in everyday life. Without many of these art forms, we would not have insight into past cultures. Famous pieces of writing and drawings that depict past life are still revered to this day. Those who have ventured into artistic fields are still remembered today and considered to be just as important as people from the past who studied astrology or mathematics.

Two famous names among us are Galileo and Beethoven; while one studied the constancy of stars and astrological patterns, the other wrote compositions still played and commended today. It’s also interesting to note that in old times, writers and artists were the ones revered over those who pursued science because of the taboo nature of science back then.

“I think we don’t technically need art but it’s enjoyable,” says junior Lawson Vienneau.

The performing arts are also able to affect the world and people within it. Filmography majors capture the world every day and showcase sights and knowledge that people need to see to understand. Music has also been used to effectively treat and calm those with mental diseases such as autism. Not to mention that most of society’s famous morals and sayings are heavily embedded within classic novels passed down throughout generations, such as The Jungle and Uncle Tom’s Cabin. So much would not be possible without the products of the artistic world, and it is arguable that while these may not be jobs relying primarily on logic, they are able to stimulate not only the mind but the way observers from around the world feel.

Despite controversy that those with jobs consisting of acting or dancing have no idea what a real job schedule is like or that they have taken the easy road, those who hold these job positions disprove this theory constantly. The amount of work which is poured into such jobs spans over months and occasionally years.

Many Broadway plays take years to finish before being put on, with large amounts of time taken to choreograph, construct, and costume( not to mention all the other jobs that are included in large scale plays). Singers and dancers are constantly in their respective studios, training to perfect their abilities and performances for audiences. The detail and criticism that these workers possess and the perfection they strive to obtain makes their jobs just as difficult as other jobs that might be in a more “serious” field.

What others should understand is that dancing, writing, music, theater, and art are all individually essential for forming strong cultural identities. These are fields that have existed over time, and still speak to people in present day. Without these fields, connections between societies and the people within them would be much harder to achieve and pointless to strive for.

No matter how looked down upon they are, these jobs are ones that critically reflect exactly what the world is trying to say. They are needed just as much as someone telling us what space looks like from outside of Earth or the exact proportions of pi. It is an inevitable truth, which should be recognized by those who turn their noses up at the artistic field and those who chose to take the artistic path.