Unfortunately, the impossibility of direct transmission of symbols and the replacement of this transmission with a complicated and mediated system of sounds and words, on the basis of which the former meaning is restored, and at the same time is restored very inadequately, has led, as a result, to the blurring of many, especially abstract, concepts. And, since the concepts of "culture" and "art" are highly abstract and individual, they are in dire need of additional interpretation and explanation.

From our point of view, culture is a collective oral legend, a collective oral tradition, the results of which are written and unwritten norms of life. Whereas art is an individual creative process, the result of which is a work of art or art-object. It can also be assumed that these two concepts have in common only that they both relate to human existence.

There are many examples of a high level of culture of society, for example, modern Germany, in the absence of intelligible works of art, as well as the opposite phenomenon, when the low level of culture of Russian society at the beginning of the 20th century was combined with a powerful breakthrough in the individual creative process.

A high level of culture of a society often correlates with a decrease in the passionarity of its members, and extraordinary efforts are required to maintain this passionarity at the minimum necessary level, as exemplified by some modern countries such as Israel or Great Britain. However, the conclusion here is traditional: exceptions only confirm the rule.

These two concepts - culture and art - are not viable in the absence of a third, which is the viewer, who is also society. It is society that is able to implement the results of creativity in the norms of social life - according to certain laws and principles. This does not always happen, no matter how outstanding the work of art is. However - and this must be emphasized - no one knows the results and advantages of such an implementation.

Many of the facts presented here do not require proof, and much of the evidence is simply omitted, both due to a lack of space and in connection with the process of a general decline in the cognitive abilities of society. Nevertheless, the very idea of ​​the different nature of these phenomena - culture and art - seems not only very interesting, but also capable of shedding additional light on the relationship between the individual and society, the reflection of which culture and art are.