Value of Art

As someone who appreciates science and its use of logical explanations to describe and to make comprehensible the incomprehensible, I have to ask myself what is the value of art. What does it bring with it to the world that benefits society and helps it move forward? Is it not just an object bringing aesthetically pleasing images to our homes? What further use could it have then to appeal and be forgotten? And if it does have such an insignificant role then why is it the first means of communication that we developed (cave paintings). For what reason would Darwin's theory of evolution allow a task that "wastes" energy?

The only answer can be that the production of art is not something useless and that it in fact does influence and further the goals of society. But in what way then does art do this? It is something that appeals to me as it does with any other person. How does it surpass the many boundaries that separate society today and appeal to so many across every kind of barrier? The questions lead to more questions. It is hard to come up with answers to a subject that you know little about. But maybe what art does is outside the realm of today's science. Appealing to emotions or some other part of the brain of which we know little about. Or appealing to the curiosity of the unknown, much like the hours that can be spent staring into the night sky and being amazed at the complexity of our universe and how unfathomable it is. Many would refuse to believe it, but art may just be something only truly understood by its maker, The Artist.