.png){kind=small}
We live in times when, to a great degree, freedom of expression has had its way in expanding our minds and making us more flexible. Though it may not currently be as encouraged, incentivized, and rewarded as it could be, everywhere, rocking the boat is not as punished as it historically has been. With an abundance of works of art and facilitated access to them, it can even be baffling to encounter people with rigid thinking, adhering to narrow and short-sighted views, opinions, and, consequently, attitudes. But it shouldn't be too shocking.
Art can revolutionize you... if you let it. And unless you actively seek it out or it is made mandatory (for a course, a job, etc.), there is much that you can miss out on and remain the same. We may even feel uncomfortable and be reluctant to come into contact with a piece of art, knowing that it has the potential to move us and ultimately change us in some significant manner.
For some, it can throw them off for hours, days, or even weeks. If not just set them off to a point of no return. Some people avoid words because of this, so that they won't get to "mess" with their mind or their heart. Others avoid the sensory stimulation that would ultimately have a similar effect. Or both as much as it is possible; ignoring, blocking out, and so on. Art can be quite triggering and a catalyst for profound and immense change and transformation. Not everyone is willing to go through that or can even afford the luxury to (losing mental and emotional stability while they must keep it together).
However, one of the best uses of art is that. It may sweep in by taking over and widely delivering a message that you cannot escape. Or it may sit there, waiting for you to have the space to take it in. Works of art can be powerful items like that.
People who live for personal growth (in the truest and most spiritual sense) tend to have no issue with exposing themselves to artworks that get them to think and to feel differently - so that they can reach new heights and dig into unexplored depths. They may even crave it to a concerning degree, making everything else secondary to it. Anything but stagnation.
Sooner or later, it would be as though you've already seen it all. And what may terribly disturb and unsettle someone else, would leave you unfazed. Yet, something else could eventually come along and surprise you, leading you to question yourself again and to rearrange more within and outside yourself.
At the root of unfair bans and censorship is cowardice that "protects" from the threat of losing what's familiar upon meeting with could make it obsolete.
