Language as Artistic Expression and Communication; and it's not just language.

There is something fascinating about language. We use language as a practical means to communicate with people. We also use language to express ourselves; solely for the sake of human expression. Some take the latter use of language to the extreme. Take Louis Carroll for example, an 'expert' (if such can be said) at nonsense poetry. In his famous Jabberwocky poem he writes:

 ’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Pretty strange, huh? Well yes, it's kinda meant to be. In my opinion (and mind you, the opinion of someone void of any real critical literary education) because it is nonsense, you can take whatever meaning you want from it, without having one right answer. This type of poem seems to be one that the writer lets the pen do the talking.

Anyway, back to the topic: so language comes in a varied spectrum. What's the big deal? Well language is an art just like any art. A painting is not just a means of expression, it is a means of communication. The reverse is true as well. A Tale of Two Cities is not just art as a means of communication, but as a means of expression. Dickens' is in the novel; his way of relating to the world is deeply rooted in the novel. A photo is a means of both communication and expression.

Art comes in different forms: in books, in dance, in photos, etc. What unifies the arts is that they contain the communicative element and the expressive element. The most amazing thing is that both elements go hand in hand. The communicative element is the way for the artist to convey his or her expression - but through the medium of art each and every viewer may interpret the masterpiece in a different way.

Getting back to Lewis Carroll and his nonsense poetry. One may argue that his Jabberwocky poem is just a form of expression, with no communicative element. If that was true, then it wouldn't be art. I will not only wager that this is art (and thus contains a form of communication) but it is the ultimate form of communication: anyone can take the nonsense poetry and find his or her own meaning to it. It's like static communication versus dynamic communication (just to let you know, I have no idea if these terms even exist) - static being "And Jane left the store"; dynamic being "And fillipiding scrumptopulous Jane flew the coup" (my own nonsense for ya). 

Static communication has virtually one meaning, dynamic has many.

Language is beautiful, it allows one to be both expressive and communicative at the same time. But the same applies to all other forms of art.

Art, in essence, is one's expression in the form of communication - that is how emotions and feelings are shared, that is art.