The article Pain in Art by Sarah Boxer brought up an interesting point that I had never really thought of. The first thing that Boxer brings up in the article is the point that “The only way people can really describe pain is to objectify it.” This is interesting because we discussed something similar in philosophy where you can’t really describe an experience 100% accurately unless the other person has experienced the same thing. The best you can do is make analogies to other things. When people talk about pain they do, almost always, compare it to something physical. For example, when someone has a very painful headache they may say something like “It feels like a hammer is pounding the inside of my head.” People do this because it is the best way to convey how the pain feels to others. Boxer builds upon this point in saying that “When people forge tools or build things, they are often trying to alleviate discomfort. But first they must define the discomfort.” This is also true because tools are literally things people use to make tasks easier. When an artist builds a sculpture they are usually trying to send a message or make people feel some sort of emotion. I don’t have any problem with this way of explaining art because I believe it’s true. Works of art are made because of some sort of discomfort in order to relieve that discomfort. Even if the sculpture or artwork is not something that portrays pain but rather a happy situation, the artist did have the discomfort in the fact that no one else felt this way or has seen this piece, so it is shown to alleviate that discomfort that they have.
Life is Pain
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