Craig Stanton, Westfield High School Music Teacher Extrodinaire 

How would you define what an illusion is?

            To me, an illusion is something or idea that one or many may perceive but may not necessarily be true.

Do you think they exist in society?

            I do think they exist on a number of levels throughout society. 

How might they affect people?

            For some illusion can be a type of escapism, it can become an art form, such as Visual Art, "magic", or even music.  However, illusions can create the negative counter effect of delusion which can create chaos and conflct.

Do you think it shapes the way people make decisions?

            Like I mentioned earlier, if one operates under the assumption that the illusion is reality, they are actually being delusional. Their beliefs are not operating in the same space as objective reality. This can obviously impact the decisions that you make, whether they be small decisions or even larger more globally impactful ones.

How about act (in regards to the last question)?

            Depending on one views illusion, it will affect the way in which they act. If one is able to recognize the illusion and abstractly reason or extrapolate it vs. accept illusion as reality, those two people will act quite differently.

Do you think, based on their illusions and disillusions, people express themselves differently?

            Yes. In fact if you think about it, this is the crux of conflict in our religious and political systems we have now. Based on our individual experiences, which combine objective reality with elements of illusion (in presentation at least) we begin to formulate opinions unique to us. 

Can you think of any examples of this?

            As I mentioned earlier, this a common cause of conflict. As a hypothetical imagine "Country A". with it's own deeply held beliefs, is under the illusion that it has been wronged by "Country B". Meanwhile "Country B" operates under the illusion that since they have had conflict with Country A in the past, this must be more of the same. The result of which would be conflict between both countries, under the assumption of an illusion as reality (delusion).

How about an art form?

            Absolutely. Don't take my previous answers as an indictment of illusion as a concept. Illusion can be a very positive and essential force in the art world. In art terms, we view illusion more as an attempt to bring very real concepts into terms that will connect emotionally with the consumer of the art. Illusions generally appeal to our emotional side anyway. In visual art, this could take the obvious form of the optical illusion, where different perspectives on a piece may create totally different results. In literature, it is the description of a scene that may take the reader into his or her own fantasy. In music, it is a much more nebulous concept as (especially in instrumental music) there aren't always words to describe the illusion of the artist.

Do you think people tend to express their illusions and disillusions through art?

            Absolutely, though it might not always be the intention of the artist to impart his or her own illusions or delusions into a work of art, often times that is what they inadvertently do.

If so, can you come up with an example of this?

            To take a piece of music you and I have talked about use John Cage's 4'33". Cage's intention with this piece was to not put any of his musical personality or bias into his art, by creating a silent space. He operated under the illusion that traditional music had run its course and that the only true "new" music would come from the destruction of the older forms. Inadvertently though, by having such a revolutionary stand with this piece he planted his illusions, beliefs, and personality smack into the crux of his pieces. In fact 4'33" is probably the most easily identifiable Cage piece left.

Do you believe that overtime this peron's art will change?  Or will the art stay the same?

            It can change depending on the perspective of the artist. Artists are very much people. Like all adults, our perceptions change over time. For some adults and artists it may change drastically over the years. Other adults and artists (Like you probably have noticed) don't change very much at all. It would be natural then that the art reflects that. As a musician I will use 2 musical examples. For and example of change look at the legendary Miles Davis. Davis began his career a jazz traditionalist in the 1940's, but then became a pioneer in Bebop, Cool, and Fusion Jazz as his perceptions on the direction and influences of music grew. For a static artistic example look at someone like John Cage again. He abandoned the idea of tonality and musical structure early on in his career and never really changed that perspective throughout his life.