Just as it is impossible to consider L. Ron Hubbard the man without considering L. Ron Hubbard the artist, so, too, one cannot hope to appreciate his artistic contribution without some appreciation of his philosophic writings on the subject. Although his earliest notes on the matter date from 1943, his initial treatment of the arts in a philosophic sense may be found in his writings from 1951. In brief, he theorized that somewhere above workaday thought, there existed what he termed an aesthetic mind, and it was that level of mental activity that “deals with the nebulous field of art and creation.” In either case, he declared, “Until somebody can define what art is, the world is not likely to become more conscious of it.”

As a precedent, he then cited the work of Francis Bacon, who is generally credited as the first to develop the concept of codification, i.e., that any subject may be systematically arranged according to its rules. And it was in that tradition he then proceeded to address art as a whole. 

The first published record of his discoveries was released on August 30, 1965. In an introductory note, he reiterated that art contains “the least-codified of human endeavors and the most misunderstood,” while that longstanding question, “What is Art?” had never been adequately answered. Then although he described his notes as still in rough form, he nonetheless proceeded with the basis of that branch of activity we call art, defining it as: “ART is a word which summarizes THE QUALITY OF COMMUNICATION.”

And with that as the definitive building block, he then proceeded, through succeeding months and years to codify the whole of the subject, including the delineation of artistic presentation, artistic integration, message, rhythm, color, equipment and all else that is found in L. Ron Hubbard’s book, Art. 

Today, that work has become the single most influential text of its kind, with thousands of seasoned professionals regularly relying upon it and thousands more utilizing its data to launch their careers. The text has also become the basis of The Hubbard Basic Art Course, designed to help students with the application of its fundamental principles and is likewise used in the L. Ron Hubbard writing workshops for finalists and winners of his Writers of the Future Contest.