Art & Who Needs It.

Artists do art because they want to do it for self satisfaction and the need to express themselves in a creative, original way, yet inspired by the world -- past, present, and future -- while standing on the shoulders of the giants, aka the past / present generations, and the public domain of cultural heritage at large. in short: the art is in, the science is out.

The art is not always the product of peace and harmony. The Vikings made great art as well, so did every major empire, that were not always that peaceful and harmonious. In that sense, the victors and rulers need art to immortalize their egos and achievements.

On the other hand, most artists are delicate, sensitive, fragile creatures who are vulnerable, and since the success of society is measured in how it protects and represents its most vulnerable members, such as; kids, sick/challenged, elderly, along with the fine cultural/environmental heritage, which includes the artists, thus the creative types with the vulnerable are the "canary in the mine" as the prime indicators of the overall health of society.