The social dimension of artistic expression and its relation to youth interaction within the community

Abstract

This study begins with an extensive literary investigation into the social dimension of artistic expression that draws from both philosophical and sociological discussions into the question What is Art? Visual language can express basic ideas about self and others as well as the social, technological and political environment of the post-modern world more immediately than verbal idioms. The :findings have supported the importance of visual art expression as a means whereby young people symbolically both create and project themselves. Research was conducted by means of two sets of detailed questionnaires, the first of which was addressed to various young students of art and art history, while the second targeted a number of established artists and art teachers. The research also demonstrates that the conviction of art as a social good, though frequently emphasised in policy statements as well as in the media and the community at large, is characteristically rendered nothing more than lip service. This has left Maltese society and young talent sorely lacking on all fronts.