Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - What is Art ["Non-Artists" encouraged to respond]

Martian · 05-29-2009, 09:01 PM

The problem I have with overly rigid definitions of art is that it creates situations of exclusion. I can't put myself in a position where I deny someone's mode of expression.

Definition of art: Art is a symbolic representation created by an individual to make a statement.

Breaking that down, we find that art has two criteria:

1) It has to be created
2) It has to make a statement

If it does meet those two criteria, it's art. Architecture, sculpture, music, theatre, these are all unambiguously art.

The statement need not be profound or novel. If somebody wants to write a song or 20 about how their girlfriend left them, then they're creating art. It may not be art I enjoy or find interesting, but it is art all the same. Conversely, I may find other messages within the art. These may not necessarily be statements the artist consciously intended to make ('I like money' or 'I'm afraid of taking risks').

A landscape is not art. A painting of a landscape is. Traffic noise isn't art, but may be recorded and presented in order to convey a message of some sort, at which point it becomes art. Duchamp's dadaist work wasn't generally created by him, but he used it and made it into art.

Art itself is objective. It exists regardless of what people think of it.

But then there's the other side of it.

The artist is a conduit. The art is created by the artist. The audience gives the art meaning and significance. It doesn't matter if I write the most beautiful song in human history if nobody hears or appreciates it. Conversely, the most mundane and pedestrian music (taken solely from a technical aspect) could be considered profound and meaningful, if enough people deem it so.

It's hard not to get completely off base here. I have a lot of ideas regarding this topic, and the meaning and significance of it. Art is the search for meaning within human existence, but it's a collective thing. At the same time, it is an individual process as well. I might find something meaningful and profound, even if nobody else does. The works that are likely to be preserved and held up as meaningful in the future are the ones that have a similar impact on a wide number of people.

If we look at the technical side of art, there is structure and coherence. There are rules. Music is what I'm most comfortable with, and there we have things like meter and tempo and key signature and phrasing and all the myriad other details that go into a composition. Individual instruments require skill and technique and a great deal of practice to master. I can judge an artist on things like fret technique, originality, improvisational ability, use of dynamics and tempo. I can use these to review a piece from a technical standpoint, much as one can review the technical strengths and weaknesses of a surgeon or engineer. But I can't deny the expression itself.

05-29-2009, 09:01 PM	#10 (permalink)
Martian Young Crumudgeon Location: Canada	The problem I have with overly rigid definitions of art is that it creates situations of exclusion. I can't put myself in a position where I deny someone's mode of expression. Definition of art: Art is a symbolic representation created by an individual to make a statement. Breaking that down, we find that art has two criteria: 1) It has to be created 2) It has to make a statement If it does meet those two criteria, it's art. Architecture, sculpture, music, theatre, these are all unambiguously art. The statement need not be profound or novel. If somebody wants to write a song or 20 about how their girlfriend left them, then they're creating art. It may not be art I enjoy or find interesting, but it is art all the same. Conversely, I may find other messages within the art. These may not necessarily be statements the artist consciously intended to make ('I like money' or 'I'm afraid of taking risks'). A landscape is not art. A painting of a landscape is. Traffic noise isn't art, but may be recorded and presented in order to convey a message of some sort, at which point it becomes art. Duchamp's dadaist work wasn't generally created by him, but he used it and made it into art. Art itself is objective. It exists regardless of what people think of it. But then there's the other side of it. The artist is a conduit. The art is created by the artist. The audience gives the art meaning and significance. It doesn't matter if I write the most beautiful song in human history if nobody hears or appreciates it. Conversely, the most mundane and pedestrian music (taken solely from a technical aspect) could be considered profound and meaningful, if enough people deem it so. It's hard not to get completely off base here. I have a lot of ideas regarding this topic, and the meaning and significance of it. Art is the search for meaning within human existence, but it's a collective thing. At the same time, it is an individual process as well. I might find something meaningful and profound, even if nobody else does. The works that are likely to be preserved and held up as meaningful in the future are the ones that have a similar impact on a wide number of people. If we look at the technical side of art, there is structure and coherence. There are rules. Music is what I'm most comfortable with, and there we have things like meter and tempo and key signature and phrasing and all the myriad other details that go into a composition. Individual instruments require skill and technique and a great deal of practice to master. I can judge an artist on things like fret technique, originality, improvisational ability, use of dynamics and tempo. I can use these to review a piece from a technical standpoint, much as one can review the technical strengths and weaknesses of a surgeon or engineer. But I can't deny the expression itself. __________________ I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said - Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame