Theory v. Study

I really enjoyed last weeks presentation that attempted to associate aspects of philosophy with art--to synthesize a sort of theory explaining art function. I understand that it was much more complex than this, really, but I felt that this was its goal, in the end. The function of art is a strange question. It is easy to come up with simple answers that are problematic themselves. For example, "It broadens our understanding of the world." This may be true, but we don't understand exactly how it does this, nor are we sure of the nature of art in the wider world (i.e. a definition of art). Once vocabulary such as question, definition, problem and answer are introduced to a notion, it is pretty obvious that philosophy will be the tool necessary for its eventual understanding.