<P> "The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious . It is the source of all true art and science ."--Albert Einstein </P> <Li> Expression of the imagination . Art provides a means to express the imagination in non-grammatic ways that are not tied to the formality of spoken or written language . Unlike words, which come in sequences and each of which have a definite meaning, art provides a range of forms, symbols and ideas with meanings that are malleable . <P> "Jupiter's eagle (as an example of art) is not, like logical (aesthetic) attributes of an object, the concept of the sublimity and majesty of creation, but rather something else--something that gives the imagination an incentive to spread its flight over a whole host of kindred representations that provoke more thought than admits of expression in a concept determined by words . They furnish an aesthetic idea, which serves the above rational idea as a substitute for logical presentation, but with the proper function, however, of animating the mind by opening out for it a prospect into a field of kindred representations stretching beyond its ken ." - Immanuel Kant </P> </Li> <P> "Jupiter's eagle (as an example of art) is not, like logical (aesthetic) attributes of an object, the concept of the sublimity and majesty of creation, but rather something else--something that gives the imagination an incentive to spread its flight over a whole host of kindred representations that provoke more thought than admits of expression in a concept determined by words . They furnish an aesthetic idea, which serves the above rational idea as a substitute for logical presentation, but with the proper function, however, of animating the mind by opening out for it a prospect into a field of kindred representations stretching beyond its ken ." - Immanuel Kant </P> <Li> Ritualistic and symbolic functions . In many cultures, art is used in rituals, performances and dances as a decoration or symbol . While these often have no specific utilitarian (motivated) purpose, anthropologists know that they often serve a purpose at the level of meaning within a particular culture . This meaning is not furnished by any one individual, but is often the result of many generations of change, and of a cosmological relationship within the culture . <P> "Most scholars who deal with rock paintings or objects recovered from prehistoric contexts that cannot be explained in utilitarian terms and are thus categorized as decorative, ritual or symbolic, are aware of the trap posed by the term' art' ." - Silva Tomaskova </P> </Li>

Why have most cultures throughout history used artistic works as a form of representation