world | Outside The Lines

There are many different ways in which art benefits people. Some visual art is so stunning that it simply lifts a viewer’s spirit. Other art is sold and supports the very livelihood of the artists who create it. Music is a form of art that is not only enjoyable to listen to, it is also therapeutic, and many music therapy recipients are becoming healthier in both body and mind. There’s no doubt that art in general has benefitted humanity in countless ways. During World War One, knitting was an art form that proved itself to be beyond beneficial.

During the first World War, knitting was far more that just an art — it was a cause. Between 1917 and 1918, women and men all over the United States were encouraged to knit garments for U.S. soldiers. These soldiers were often in pitiful condition, stuck in freezing trenches and icy weather with nothing to insulate them. As a result, many soldiers took sick and even died from cold weather-induced illnesses. The efforts of American knitters literally saved the lives of many soldiers.

Since knitting was sweeping the country in the early 20th Century, it was not at all uncommon to see people engaging in the art during church and school. The Red Cross issued a request for knitted garments, and much of the knitted goods collected during the war were produced by Red Cross volunteers. Many people from Seattle and other parts of the country also contributed to the war effort.

The primary knitted garment that was called for by the Red Cross during the first World War was the sock. American soldiers’ boots were neither comfortable nor warm, so wool socks made their job a little more tolerable. Besides knitting socks, Americans spent thousands of hours knitting sweaters, wristlets, and mufflers. The art of knitting was certainly shown to be invaluable during the perilous years of World War One.

In the days of World War One, Americans saw knitting as not only a way to keep soldiers warm and well, but also to make them feel comforted during a very traumatic time. This is an excellent example of the importance of art in society. Furthermore, this proves that a simple art like knitting has the ability to accomplish a great deal of good. Surely art is endowed with powers to lift the soul, comfort the spirit, and even preserve the body.

Sources:

http://www.historylink.org/index.cfm?DisplayPage=output.cfm&file_id=5721

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Being an artist also means having a deep connection with the world around you, viewing life with a different set of lenses. To an artist, creativity and beauty encompasses just about every facet of daily life. The amount of individual interests available to an artist are limitless.

Like many artists, Leonardo da Vinci didn’t just consider himself to be a man of one concentration. One fascination of Leonardo’s was that of invention and design.

Throughout his life, Leonardo had taken time to document ideas for inventions that intrigued and inspired him. He did this by sketching them in his journal. However, the ability to create prototypes and test each of these inventions went unrealized in his life. Unfortunately, Leonardo died before any of the world would know of his true genius. His works were scattered and lost, many of them not seen again for hundreds of years.

In the example above, taken from the Museum of Sciences website, we can see that Leonardo da Vinci had a vision for a flying vehicle nearly 500 years before the first manned aircraft would be designed and piloted by Paul Cornu in 1907.

In his drawings, it is easy to see Leonardo’s dead on grasp of where the future of technology was headed. From tanks and parachutes, to diving and aircraft landing gears, Leonardo would touch upon them all in his pen and paper interpretations.

Was it because he was a supremely intelligent and enlightened human being, or that he had visions of a future far superior to our own? In any case we may never know, but it was likely a pairing of the two that lead him to jot down so many innovative and profound ideas.

It is startling to note how severely under noticed the conceptions went until the incredible discovery of some of Leonardo’s works; drawings that would captivate the imaginations of so many throughout the world.

It is a lesson to us that an artist is more than artist, he is an instrument in the progression of the world and its many views.

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