Everyone knows that the art is very important in society. Fine art, prose and poetry, music and film improve our everyday life, make it brighter, brings joy and comfort. Yet sometimes there are people who do not agree with this statement. They argue that art is a waste of energy and resources, and areas such as science and industry are truly important since they produce items that necessary for the society. However, this opinion is incorrect, since art in general, and the people involved in it in particular, have a huge impact and significance in society. Our life would be empty without art. The art is a method of transmitting ideas in different ways. Art makes us think, analyze and pay attention to the minor details that in the end are of paramount importance. Visual art helps to relieve stress and get away by discoursing about it, and thus developing the ability to think critically. Writers also allow to come into contact with different worlds, live in different eras, acquainted with the life of people from all over the world. The influence of art on a person and his worldview is difficult to overestimate; it awakens the spiritual faculties of the person, cries out for the best qualities.
And some of these people who make our world a better place are Sandra Cisneros and Leonardo da Vinci. Sandra Cisneros is a major voice for Latinos about the Hispanic experience in the US. She is known for her poems, novels, short stories and children's stories (Poetryfoundation.org, n.d.). And as for Leonardo da Vinci, this great artist needs no introduction. He is known not only as a painter but, also as a sculptor, engineer, inventor and scientist (Bbc.co.uk, n.d.). Both of these people have made a huge contribution to our society. For example, Leonardo da Vinci's improved drawing some technologies and also invented techniques such as chiaroscuro and sfumato (Leonardo Da Vinci, n.d.). As for Sandra Cisneros, her creativity contributed to the self-determination of Latina and helped to implement intercultural communication between the two nations: Americans and Latinos, which also cannot be underestimated (Poetryfoundation.org, n.d.).
Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in a family of seven children and she was the only daughter. Because of her family's poverty, constant travel and the lack of friends, Sandra pays a lot of time to books. In high school, she began to write poems and was even an editor of the magazine, but the writer began her career later. Cisneros asserts that she began to write properly only in 1974 in college creative writing class. She did not immediately find her creative style. She denied the generally accepted norms of the writing of her class and eventually developed her own way of creation (Findbiography.org, n.d.). Her work has finally received a form of intercultural exchange of views, figures of speech and language of the two nations: the ones, among whom she lived and the ones, to whom her family belonged (Poetryfoundation.org, n.d.). The experience she gained from continuously runs between Mexico City and Chicago, in a constant contact with different worlds and custom, was reflected in her works. She got a chance to tell Americans about the life of Latinos, and vice versa. Her background has had a huge impact on her and gave the invaluable experience, which she shared with others. Sandra Cisneros is very different from other American writers, and it makes her works special, different from others and, therefore, extremely valuable to society. She has something to say to the American community about what they may not know at all (Findbiography.org, n.d.). Her characters are very bright and original. Such her poem as I Am On My Way to Oklahoma to Bury the Man I Nearly Left My Husband For, Black Lace Bra Kind of Woman and Cloud remembered after the first reading and left a lasting impression. In these poems, Cisneros analyzes the unusual behavior of ordinary people, sometimes causing thorough reflection on the deep meaning of each character. Feminist motives of her poems though have a tremendous impact on women, but also can impress men. It is sometimes useful to men to penetrate the woman's head, to know what she wants, what she hides and what she thinks about. She reveals secrets and expresses the most intimate things. In general, her work is something like a breath of fresh air on a hot afternoon. Her ideas are unusual, sometimes innovative and extremely interesting for the average person and the reader (Findbiography.org, n.d.). And it is undeniable that she has made a great impact to the development of our society.
No less contribution to the world culture, science and society had made a person named Leonardo da Vinci. He is mainly known as a painter, the author of the world famous painting the Mona Lisa. His artworks: Annunciation, Medusa, the Last Supper and so on is also widely known, studied and admired. Leonardo da Vinci, the first person coming to mind with the association with Renaissance, was born on 15 April 1452 in Vinci, Italy. One of the finest minds in the history, this person contributed to the development of various areas from the drawing to the engineering. His talent was evident at an early age, and although he received no proper education, at the age of 14 he met with Andrea del Verrocchio. This artist taught the young Leonardo many skills and techniques. Later, da Vinci himself learned by carefully studying human’s anatomy with the aim of portraying people right. His drawings of human and animal bodies are considered to be among the first in the history of anatomy (The Biography.com website, n.d.). All these skills were useful to him later to create his the most famous paintings. In addition, the use of color and shading helped the painter to achieve his goals. The bright and friendly colors emphasize Annunciation’s peace and harmony in the depicted composition. Conversely, blurred shapes and dark colors of Medusa create a bleak, frightening atmosphere. As for the Mona Lisa, it is the apogee of da Vinci’s creativity. This picture does not leave anyone indifferent. It can be interpreted in different ways, but everyone who looks at it, realize and feel something personal. By drawing this painting, da Vinci unwittingly created the symbol of art in general. In particular, the Mona Lisa is a symbol of creativity of da Vinci, all revolutionary introductions, all the contribution that this artist has made to the development of the world society. Looking at this picture, it becomes evident that art is eternal. For several generations, this picture was admired and will be admired by millions of people (Leonardo Da Vinci, n.d.). Even with the only one this artwork, it can be considered that Leonardo da Vinci made an invaluable contribution to the world art, but Mona Lisa is just one of his many works, also brilliant, though less well-known.
Comparing the contributions of Sandra Cisneros and Leonardo Da Vinci, it can be said that the Italian painter still had a greater impact on the world community than the writer. However, this is due to the fact that Da Vinci is considered one of the most famous artists in the world in all times. But the genius of this great man should not overshadow the contribution, which Cisneros does with her creativity, in the relationship between people of different nations. Her poems are not considered the greatest works of world literature, but they are close to the general reader. They are close to the people about whom and for whom these poems were written. Of course, high culture has its inestimable influence on society, but it is too far from our everyday life. High culture is like a communion with God, which is necessary to a person, but to which it is difficult to apply in usual life. In contrast, the works of Sandra Cisneros raise a number of issues and concerns that are relevant now. Intercultural communication, relationships between men and women, feminists theme are discussing in all works of this writer. Cisneros received such recognition and her books are translated into more than twenty languages not without reason (Sandracisneros.com, 2015). Such international recognition means that her poems are really important and needed by society. And who knows, maybe her Mona Lisa has not written yet and still waiting for its turn. And as for the author of the picture mentioned above, his last word in the arts had been said for a long time ago, but all of his creations still excite the minds of millions. Leonardo Da Vinci is known for much more than Sandra Cisneros because of the vast scope of his activities. Any picture of the artist is an icon worshiped. His paintings can give joy and consolation, and can initiate an alarm and uncertainty. However, this means that the person in contact with this art develops spiritually and receives a new emotional experience. It makes a person spiritually richer and perhaps kinder. And as it is commonly known, a healthy society needs people who are happy and tranquil. Accordingly, the more people understand such high culture and feel agitated the ideas, once one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance was excited about, the less conflict will arise between people and the more people will share the idea of universal humanism. Of course, this ideal world will never see the light. However, those things that have created these two people still make our world and our society better. By forcing to look at ordinary things in a new way, learning to communicate with members of other social groups, giving comfort and relaxation, the painter and the writer make their invaluable contribution to the development of our society for the better.
And the bottom line to this reasoning, it can be argued that any art somehow influences society. The effect can be either positive or negative, but particularly Leonardo da Vinci and Sandra Cisneros definitely influenced the society in a good way. Their work is in different areas, they had different goals. The writer tried to solve the problems that concerned her, she wrote about what she and others the same as her had to face. By contrast, the painter was trying to divert people away from the problems, helping to abstract, contemplating the fabulous, unreal picture. In general, it can be said that these two artists have contributed to the different areas of art, not only because they expressed their thoughts in different forms – in writing and in drawing. They changed diverse aspects of our life: social life and spiritual worldview. Analyzing the work of these artists, it can be seen that there are different ways that an artist can solve the various problems. He or she can deal with urgent issues or can disengage from the world and give a comfort and a relaxation to those who need it. One thing is certain: both approaches are needed and important because it is impossible to live constantly in pressing challenges, as well as have your head in the clouds all the time.
References
Bbc.co.uk,. BBC - History - Leonardo da Vinci. Retrieved 16 January 2016, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/da_vinci_leonardo.shtml
Findbiography.org,. SANDRA CISNEROS Biography - Writers. Retrieved 16 January 2016, from http://www.findbiography.org/writers/sandra-cisneros
Leonardo Da Vinci,. Art Impact. Retrieved 16 January 2016, from http://leonartodavinci.weebly.com/art-impact.html
Poetryfoundation.org,. Sandra Cisneros : The Poetry Foundation. Retrieved 16 January 2016, from http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/sandra-cisneros
Sandracisneros.com,. (2015). About Sandra Cisneros. Retrieved 16 January 2016, from http://www.sandracisneros.com/bio.php
The Biography.com website,. Leonardo da Vinci Biography. Retrieved 16 January 2016, from http://www.biography.com/people/leonardo-da-vinci-40396
