Sorry, but that’s ridiculous! I have never heard such a thing. All the Chareidi people I know think these things are very important and part of one’s Avodas Hashem.
If that is what you have been hearing, I suspect that you either have the wrong impression or else the people you know are the Mitchareid type (people who grew up modern and became Chareidi as opposed to people who were always Chareidi). Often, people who are mitchareid develop Baal teshuva syndrome which is a tendency to go to extremes that are not reflective of normal mainstream Chareidi society.
In any case, it sounds like you know the wrong people. I think you need to find a way to meet other types of Chareidim than the ones you know now. The daughters of one of my most Chareidi friends (they go to the Snif) take all sorts of classes. At least one of them is extremely artistic and took art classes.