A Review of the Relationship between Art, Culture, Heritage and Nostalgia

Abstract

This research paper intends to explore the relationship between art, culture, heritage and nostalgia. It reviews the purpose and philosophy of art from ancient to the present times, and also explores the influences of culture and heritage on art. The specific focus is on how the nostalgic emotions become a source of inspiration for an artist in the creation of the pieces of art. It also identifies the relations and associations of an artist with his surroundings. The qualitative research method has been adopted for contextual and formal analysis. The extrinsic and intrinsic approaches have been employed to interpret and explain the data. The study concluded that ideas or vision of an artist is shaped through the cultural and social norms. Art serves as a significant platform to materialize an artist’s inspirations, drawn from his nostalgia with the bygone days and the objects and surroundings associated therewith. Cultural, social norms and heritage provide the subject, whereas nostalgia projects emotions and art express these emotions onto the surface of the canvas.