What do you think? Could art be the substance of the imago dei?

One important thing that makes us human, one thing we have that separates us from all other species on our planet, has been noted by psychologists and biologists. It’s not the fact that we have a language to communicate with—other animals, such as birds, whales, dolphins, even bees, have sophisticated signaling systems. It’s not that we’ve learned to use tools (chimpanzees do that), that we have built societies (ants have those), or learned to deceive (crows and monkeys). It’s not that we’re bipedal and have opposable thumbs (primates) or that we often mate for life (gibbons, prarie voles, angelfish, sandhill cranes, termites). What distinguishes us most is one thing no other animals do: art. And it’s not just the existence of art, but the centrality of it.

(from The World in Six Songs: How the Musical Brain Created Human Nature)