Office Archives - UNZDESISNS

We Need Art in Our Homes. Here’s Why

Unzdesigns — Sun, 28 Oct 2018 09:57:17 +0000

Why do we need art in our homes?

It may seem like a simple question, with an even simpler answer. But, the real answer goes beyond the surface of just adding decoration or bringing color into the living room.

Here’s why we all need a few special pieces of original artwork in our living spaces:

Art makes a home more human.

“The whole culture is telling you to hurry, while the art tells you to take your time. Listen to the art.” -Junot Diaz

Amongst all of the machine-made items in our homes, it’s nice to have something that can effortlessly bring life back into a room.

With a work of art, you can sense the time, effort, and skill that went into its creation. You may have even gotten the chance to meet the artist in person or hear the story behind the work. Even if you haven’t met the artist in person, seeing the fingerprints, brush strokes or marks on the work serves as a reminder of the person behind the work of art.

Art lets you express yourself and encourages dialogue.

“Art is a language meant to speak the things that can’t be said.” – John Demarco

Without needing words, art can be the perfect way to express who you are to both yourself and others.

Why? Art tells a story.

And, when you love a piece enough to hang it on your wall, that story speaks volumes about you.

Whether it’s your personality or what you value in life, art can be the perfect translator. This lets you forge deeper connections with those who come into your home.

Art helps us validate and recognize our emotion.

“Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand—as if it were necessary to understand—when it is simply necessary to love.” – Claude Monet

Whether it’s a memory or a feeling, a piece of art can evoke powerful emotions when we look at it. Art can cheer us up after a bad day, make us remember, or inspire us to do more in life. It can provide comfort that we are not the only ones feeling a certain way.

Art provides a reflection back to us that enables us to chew on our own reactions, emotion, and thoughts. Whatever that emotion – positive or negative – it lets us know that we are not isolated in those thoughts.

Art stretches our boundaries and encourages growth.

“Art should be like a holiday: something to give a man the opportunity to see things differently and to change his point of view.” -Paul Klee

When art is more than decoration it challenges you intellectually, confronts preexisting ideas you may hold, and even makes you uncomfortable.

By leaning into these feelings, we push ourselves to think more openly, to challenge ourselves and to see the world from a different viewpoint. Having an artwork that has shifted our worldview in our own home is a daily reminder to question our habits and thoughts.

Art reminds us of what is possible.

“By doing what you love you inspire and awaken the hearts of others.” –Satsuki Shibayu

Seeing other people do what they love is inspiring. That’s why we follow Instagram accounts of artists, athletes, and yogis. Their passion is contagious.

It’s not hard to get stuck in a routine. So often we hear our friends, or even ourselves, saying something like, “I would paint more if I had time.” Or, that we will pursue these passions in retirement.

It is invigorating to see someone both creating and dedicating their time to what gives them the most joy in life. By pursuing these passions and working against the grain, they inspire us to do the same.

Art encourages us to be brave.

“I’ve been absolutely terrified every moment of my life and I’ve never let it keep me from doing a single thing that I wanted to do.” – Georgia O’keefe

Being an artist is not an easy path. It often requires deep sacrifice both financially and socially for periods at a time.

It also opens us up to criticism. As anyone who has ever displayed a work of art, poetry, writing or even given a speech knows—putting yourself out there is making yourself vulnerable.

Having a work of art in your home encourages you to take risks and to embrace vulnerability—because the result is often something beautiful.

Art breathes life into a home.

“I don’t like to say I have given my life to art. I prefer to say art has given life to me.”- Frank Stella

Your home is “your place,” and that’s why decorating it to your liking is so important. You need to feel comfortable in your space! And, surrounding yourself with art you love will help you enjoy where you spend a majority of your time.

Plus, from a functional design standpoint, art acts as a focal point, makes a room appear finished, and immediately shows off your interests and ideals to visitors. By choosing to live with art, you are choosing to bring more life into your home.

We Need Art in Our Homes

But, how do you find the perfect piece? Search through thousands of artists for a piece that speaks to you with Artwork Archive’s Discovery page. If you have something in mind, you can filter by price point, size, type of art work, and keyword. You can even look for local artists near you to support your community.

Check out Discovery on Artwork Archive today, and fill your home with art you’ll love.

The post We Need Art in Our Homes. Here’s Why appeared first on UNZDESISNS.

Art In The Workplace: Why You Need It And How To Choose It

Unzdesigns — Sun, 28 Oct 2018 09:56:08 +0000

Displaying art in the workplace can elevate employee performance, mood, and physical well-being, as well as bolster interpersonal bonds between employees and clients. Dozens of research studies conducted in the United States and Europe throughout the past 10 years have identified myriad ways — from the practical to the unconscious — that installing thoughtfully-chosen art in the workplace can improve employee experience and achievement, and help to communicate the right message to guests. In this brief guide, We summarize the many positive effects certain kinds of art can bring to employees and visitors, and share ideas about how to choose the best art for the workplace.

Art as a tool for wayfinding, culture, and employee ownership

Workplaces can often feel like a maze of desks, hallways, and doors. Because our brains hold onto memorable environmental features, art can usefully function as a landmark, helping people traveling through a space to remember where they’ve been. It can also come in handy when providing directions.

Amidst many options for addressing branding and company culture in the workplace, art can help communicate key brand messages in a non-verbal way. For example, an organization that displays unusual artwork is likely to be seen as conducting business in less traditional ways or marketing less conventional products; art that seems based in multiple ethnic traditions can signal multicultural management practices; and art depicting well-known and high-prestige locations, such as the White House, can indicate a history of working with powerful allies.

By this same token, if the art in place illustrates issues of common concern and collective identity — such as environmentally-responsible behavior or pediatric health — it can support a feeling of unity, whether among employees or between an organization and its clients. Additionally, while work environments can sometimes feel like universes unto themselves, art in the workplace can serve as an outlet for highlighting local culture and community, creating a bridge between the workplace and its surroundings. Successful corporate collections often feature local artists and demonstrate direct reference to the proximate cultural milieu.

For organizations hoping to give employees a sense of agency in their workplace environments, allowing workers to choose and position their own art can supply them a feeling of control, which has been linked to enhanced professional performance at the individual, group, and organizational levels. Participatory murals take this a step further, allowing employees to interact with the art post-installation and on their own terms. In general, employees show the most attention to detail, process and manage information best, and show the highest levels of organizational citizenship when their workplaces both display art and have allowed input into its selection and placement.

Art’s role in employee stress, health, and performance

Akin to its proven rehabilitative influence in hospitals, art in the workplace has also been shown to benefit employee well-being and performance. This is significant, as the office can easily become a place of stress and tension, and people become cognitively exhausted after prolonged periods of highly-focused work. Viewing artwork, particularly realistic nature scenes, helps workers restore mental energy and reduce stress. Unsurprisingly, both of these effects boost brain performance. Seeing nature images in artwork has also been linked to lower levels of anger in workplaces. One in four American workers report feeling chronically angry, which has been linked to negative outcomes such as retaliatory behavior, interpersonal aggression, poor work performance, absenteeism, and increased turnover. People who work in environments decorated with aesthetically-engaging art typically experience less stress and anger in response to task-related frustration, and thus help to build a more collaborative and enjoyable workplace.

Interpersonal interaction also results from art that sparks discussion among employees. If creativity, innovation, and open conversations are elements of an organization’s purported culture, the placement of engaging artwork can help substantiate these values and make them visually available. Employees tend to feel more cooperative and open to considering differing points of view when exposed to images they find pleasing, including images of places to which they feel a connection — for instance, an employee in New York City looking at a beautiful photo of Central Park, or an employee in London seeing a painting of the English countryside.

Art objects have also been shown to hold high emotional value for viewers, more than paintings, which are understood as extensions of their makers, representing a uniquely manifest, personal expression. Objets d’art — or, curated art objects — placed across the workplace is one technique for encouraging reflection and the resultant communal discussion, as well as instilling visual and material interest throughout the work environment at low cost. These can be deployed in large numbers and at multiple scales, and offer personality without preciousness or personal narrative.

If creativity, innovation, and open conversations are elements of an organization’s purported culture, the placement of engaging artwork can help substantiate these values and make them visually available.

Art, like nature, is significant in its ability to transport the viewer to a different mental plane — an experience often described as awe, or “experiencing perceptual vastness: the sense that one has come upon something immense in size, number, scope, ability, or social bearing.” When people experience awe, it can significantly lower levels of inflammation that can lead to chronic illnesses including diabetes, depression, and cardiovascular disease. It can also stimulate a more efficient processing of information, allowing people to feel less rushed, more patient, and more willing to volunteer. In healthcare settings, the display of nature scenes has been linked to lower levels of patients’ perceived pain, stress, anxiety, fatigue, and general distress, and is usually gauged to be a “positive distraction” (one that elicits good feelings and holds attention without causing stress, thereby blocking worrisome thoughts). Patients also socialize more with each other, are less restless and quieter when nature scenes are on view.

The post Art In The Workplace: Why You Need It And How To Choose It appeared first on UNZDESISNS.