Defining art is a tricky thing. There are a lot of gray areas and what constitutes art for one may not hold for another. I’ll try to put a few thoughts in order about what art means for me and why I think it’s important.
Art can be a reflection of society and the times just as much as a reflection of a single artist. It can be as inflammatory and controversial as Andres Serrano’s work ‘Piss Christ’
>Immersion (Piss Christ) is a 1987 photograph by the American artist and photographer Andres Serrano. It depicts a small plastic crucifix submerged in a small glass tank of the artist's urine.
Or as confusing as a found object declared to be art like the ‘Fountain’ by Marcel Duchamp
>Fountain is a 1917 work produced by Marcel Duchamp. The piece was a porcelain urinal, which was signed "R.Mutt" and titled Fountain
Art, as opposed to craft, doesn't usually have any practical application. Apart from being pretty or pleasing there is no real use to a painting or a photograph. That is why a pretty chair or a pretty dress fall more under the category of craft rather than that of art.
There are, of course, crossovers where a craft has been taken to extreme and can be considered art. You can think of many impractical pieces of fashion, for example, you may have seen and consider art. Like this dress made of meat by Canadian artist Jana Sterbak in 1987.
>Vanitas: Flesh dress for an albino anorectic, Jana Sterbak, 1987
Almost all of us paint as small children. We do not give too much thought to what or why. We try to capture some of the world arounds us and inside us. The two representations, the one outside and the one inside, get beautifully and creatively jumbled.
At some point a lot of us stop painting. We start to realize that the world in our paintings doesn't look like the world we can see. We get frustrated by the inability to accurately represent what we see or what we feel.
An artist is someone who still has that drive to express themselves and represent the world around them and inside them. Be it in painting, photography, music, performance or anything else, an artist is someone who has something to say and they are trying to express it.
An artist may not always know what it is they are trying to say. Whether they are expressing an emotion or recreating a particular story from their childhood. Ultimately, it doesn't matter. Once created, an artwork is the property of the public and the public can see in it whatever they please. Often what they see is some representation of themselves. If you are in touch with your emotions you’ll probably feel them stir in sight of a particular painting or at the opera. If you are more cerebral, you may analyze shape and composition to try and find the story the artist ‘meant’ to tell.
Note that I said that the public is the one that analyzes the art and not art critics or art collectors. In a recent excellent episode of ‘Adam Ruins Everything’ - ‘Adam Ruins Art’ (S02E05) he brings a lot of accusations and allegations against the art world (mostly the american high-end one).
I’m not going to go into each of his claims but I will say that once turned into a business, the art world is run a lot like other business. There is corruption and nepotism as well heavy doses of marketing. It is often true that who you know is more important than what you do or how you do it.
My favorite author, Terry Pratchett, inserted a lovely quote about the art world in his book ‘Thud!’
>Art is greater than the sum of its mere mechanical components, corporal, said the curator. Surely you hwould not say that Caravati's Three Large Pink hWomen and One Piece of Gauze is just, ahem, "a lot of old pigment"?
What about this one, then? said Nobby, pointing to the adjacent plinth. It's just a big stake with a nail in it! Is this art, too?
Freedom? If it hwas ever on the market, it hwould probableah fetch thirty thousand dollars, said Sir Reynold.
For a bit of wood with a nail in it? said Fred Colon. Who did it?
After he viewed Don't Talk to Me About Mondays! Lord Vetinari graciousleah had Ms Pouter nailed to the stake by her ear, said Sir Reynold. However, she did manage to pull free during the afternoon.
I bet she was mad! said Nobby.
Not after she hwon several awards for it. I believe she's planning to nail herself to several other things. It could be a very exciting exhibition.
Tell you what, then, sir, said Nobby helpfully. Why don't you leave the ol big frame where it is and give it a new name, like Art Theft?
No, said Sir Reynold coldly. That would be foolish.
(Thud!, Terry Pratchett)
It’s not easy being an artist and devoting yourself to introspection in the hope of creating something worthwhile and new that maybe will also pay some bills. Artists who completely devote themselves to their work are rare but that does not mean that only the very dedicated can be called artists. I also disagree with the idea that only people who have sold a piece of art can be called artists.
I think that anyone who creates anything for the sheer pleasure of creation, for trying to express something they feel or trying to reflect back something they see around them is an artist. Most of those people are not recognised. Ultimately, if you can look at something created or found, whether it is defined as art or not, and feel something you didn’t feel before, understand or think something new regarding yourself or the world around you, then it can be considered art.
Like I said in the beginning I think art is a very personal thing. What *you* like, what *you* connect to, is what’s important. “I may not know much about art but I know what I like” (Gelett Burgess) and “Will I hang this in my living room” tests are always valid to determine what is good art for you.
I probably have a lot more to say but I think I have rambled on long enough. What do you think about art? Are there things defined as art you feel are definitely not art? Is there any point I made you wish to argue about or correct me about?
Feel free to do all that and more in the comments.
*All images are property of the original owners. I intend no infringement.*