Art is useless

Art is useless.

I firmly, completely believe that. But, I also believe that it's the most important thing that we have in life. It might be useless, but to me, creativity and self-expression are more important than anything else.

Some people think that fashion is shallow, that design doesn't matter. That material things are pointless and that I should be 'doing something more worthwhile with my life'. That's last point is the one that pisses me off that most actually. I'm clever, but I've got used to people thinking that I have absolutely no sense of what's important in the world because I write about beautiful pairs of shoes.


Honestly, I think that's really very sad. Because all of those things are a wonderful way to express yourself (just watch me express myself in those shoes on my birthday). They're art. I don't buy nice things because I want 'nice things'. I buy things because they're beautiful and the beauty is what makes me happy. You might not see it, you might not agree with my taste or even 'get' fashion. Honestly, I don't get fashion a lot of the time. I'm not a fashion blogger. I write about design and interiors and (hopefully) make that accessible to others on Domestic Sluttery. Because that's what I'm passionate about. I often don't see a pair of shoes, or an overpriced sofa. The function isn't always the first thing I see. I usually see the art first.


I don't think things are always meant to be solely functional. If I did, I'd buy my furniture in Ikea. All of my shoes would be black (I only own one pair of black shoes). I probably wouldn't own this breakfast set. But I can see the grace and elegance and discipline behind something that is both beautiful and functional. To me, that's when something stops being art and becomes design. And that transformation blows my mind.

I don't think a pair of shoes will change the world. But I do think your enjoyment of something beautiful can change your day. Whether that enjoyment comes from staring at Monet's lilies in the Tate Modern, or from pressing your nose up against the window of Chanel, it's a good thing. And yeah, actually I think that can change the world a little bit. A photograph can change your life. A song can break your heart. Books can do whatever you want them to do. Films can... well they just can, can't they?



We interact with creativity. Whether it's music, or a blog post on a website, a clever online meme. We like things that make us smile. We like getting our hands dirty. We like making stuff (and baking stuff). We like touching things. I think that last point is the most important. Touch and texture are so important to us. We touch things without even realise we're doing it. When we're browsing in a shop, we'll touch the sweater that looks soft. When we find someone attractive, we'll find any excuse we can to touch their arm. It's completely natural for us to interact with something that we find beautiful. So much of creativity is about that.

You might not even understand what someone else sees as 'art' (I'll never understand the fuss around Christopher Kane, Radiohead or Constable). That doesn't mean that it's not art. And it doesn't mean it's not important. When we're talking about something commercial, that someone else has put a recognisable value on, it's more complicated. Because we compare that value to something we see as important. We'll say "I could buy a car for that much!" and we justify our argument that way. I just don't think the monetary value is the argument we should be having. Forcing your own values onto someone else won't make them agree with you. Don't just tell me something is ugly. Tell me what excites you.

Art is useless. Art absolutely has no definable purpose. It has no concrete value, and it is, of course, utterly futile. But it makes us happy. It brightens our day, every single day, most of the time without us even realising. It matters.


At the start of this post, I quoted Stephen Fry saying that art was useless. He the same thing about love as well. Dude had a point.

The shoes are from Kurt Geiger and they're heavenly. Waterlilies was nicked from erm... Monet (sorry, Dude). Go see it at the Tate Modern, it'll blow your mind. The love print is from the wonderfully talented Coulson Macleod and I've been coveting it for the last year. Even though it's utterly useless.