Welcome back to our monthly series of BLANK as Art! As a recap, this is where we uncover, rediscover and often redefine what “art” is.

In our first post, we stated the sheer definition of “art” as: “the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.”

While the definition suggests that painting and sculpture are the common visual forms, we understand, as a people, that many other categories can fit into the art definition. Our aim is to get you to look at the world a little differently and define “art” for yourself and how it moves you.

Today we explore “Laughter”

There might not be any greater emotional outburst than laughter. Being moved internally to a point that energy needs be let out via audible guffaws and belly grabbing. How about the fact that one can get so lost in laughter that tears come streaming down their face. Is this not the desired response of any artist?

Crafting words and delivery so eloquently that they punch through the barricades of a persons veneer and create laughter, even when the recipient is adamant about remaining stoic.

We seek laughter as an escape just like we do with other forms of art. We look to occupy our brains with something un-stressful, but what is the science behind laughing?

A good laugh has great short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn't just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body. Laughter can:

• Stimulate many organs.Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.
• Activate and relieve your stress response.A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response and increases your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.
• Soothe tension.Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.

Laughter also induces memory and reminds us of other times that we were carefree. Hearting the laugh of others serve as an audible identification card and allows for a connection that cannot be forged. We remember our parent’s laugh, the laugh of a first love or the laugh of our favorite movie stars. This form of art memory allows us to escape into a fondly remembered time.

Let us not discount the most famous laugh of all time, and one that set’s a blaze the imaginations, anticipations and joy in children. Santa Clauses HO HO HO is the purest form of laughter as art as there ever was, as little children strain against a silent night to hear the faint chuckle or listen to the guffaw get louder the closer you get to him at the mall. Eyes get bigger, cheeks flush and a contagious smile washes over the faces of the innocent.

This is exactly what art should do!