today’s times, what we see and perceive is highly dependent on where we see it and in what
circumstances. The same goes with Art. Art in one way or the other exists around us, and is a
necessity for the society to survive. But where this Art is, is important for its interpretation.
That is when the architecture and the built environment around the Art in focus play a
significant role.
Paintings in Churches and other Religious places, bear a completely different interpretations
than when the same paintings are painted elsewhere, like a canvas.
Art on a wall of a street has more public access than a sculpture in a park, which in turn is moreaccessible than it being in any elite or defined space like galleries or museums, and that is how
it gets distinguished, based on the built environment and architecture around it. Paintings in
Cave depict the people, the society that existed then and the lifestyle that they followed, and if
the same paintings are on display in a museum, they gain a higher value and the accessibility of
it also changes. A piece of art in one’s room is more coherent to the surrounding and also
defines the choice of the individuals. This sort of built environment is also definitive in creating
the understanding of art as it gets accessed by chosen few, thus altering its connotation. And
this is what marks an Art’s identity and the worth it eventually holds. From the time when art
and architecture admirably intertwined, to today where they have been separated as
discourses leading to their implication being altered by the influential of these discourses.
The paintings and all other art earlier depicted the environment around as a single entity along
with the people, nature and the man-made structures, making everything ‘Art’, and maybe
going back to the similar form will make our cities appear better today. Thus, the architecture
around can enhance art and vice-versa, and both when combined as a being can make a space
work and feel better for the people at the end of the day.
