What Is Art?

May 19, 2011 by

Throughout the ages, humanity has struggled to pinpoint the definitive aspects of art.  What makes something art, versus just a lot of scribbly and colorful stuff on a canvass?  There seems to be no single answer to this timeless question.  The world repeatedly fails to reach a consensus on what makes something “art” instead of just a collection of random, unrelated, and non-thematic shapes and colors that can be detected visually or audibly.  We can agree, however, that you know it when you see it.  This brings in a highly subjective contribution by the audience of the work of art.  The one experiencing the art must also bring his or her past encounters with the colors, themes, and lines to this current time, and formulate an analysis of what he or she is viewing.

Still, it is all extremely subjective.  Three people can look at the same painting for the same amount of time, and see three different things.  Two of them can see art, while one may see rubbish.  In this case, beauty appears to truly be in the proverbial eye of the beholder, and there can be no deciding settlement of such an argument, since the person’s opinion is drawn upon to assist in the rendering of the images.  An opinion, by default, cannot be ‘wrong.’

Have you ever seen an art exhibit that featured something you looked at very intently, but finally decided was just a lot of meaningless gobbledygook?  Well, you are not alone.  It has happened from time to time to everyone who frequents museums and art galleries.  It is especially embarrassing, though, when the artist featured is well known for being creative and masterful in his or her medium — and yet, try as you may, you cannot see it.  You find yourself surrounded by others who are full of thoughtful commentary on the art in question, and you suspect it may be a case of  The Emperor’s New Clothes, but you don’t want to say anything that might make you sound adroit and uneducated (and you also don’t want to spoil the fun for everyone, or offend the artist in any way) and that creates a very awkward situation.  In that case it might be best to just not say anything for a while.

Art can be so tricky to define.  I have seen paint splatter art that looked like it was done in a pre-school class during nap time, only it was created by adult artists who earned quite a lot of respect and cash from its production.  It can be baffling, trying to understand all of the ins and outs of the art world, but it’s not impossible to hone your skills as an art observer.  Soon, you will find that, while you may not always agree with others as to the quality of any given piece of art, you will at least know to some better extent what methods they are using in order to evaluate the art.  That is the first thing to get better at.  From there, it’s all cake.