defining art

[definingArt]

defining art
hello every one, my name is Richard and I am on a mission to find out what art is, or what art "are" by doing this i'll need help from all the artists i can possibly meet.


I do this not to fulfill any class duties (although I am in a Art philosophy class) but for personal fun and interest. please leave a creative, truthful and rather succinct definition of art is to you. The definition can be either from a personal experience or from a universal view, most importantly you must agree with it.

To start every one off, please consider the piece "In advance of the Broken arm" by Marcel Duchamp and a regular snow shovel, what is the difference. what is the definition of art?

[rpace]

hello Richard, my name is Richard. By my response you have succeeded in one part of your mission: congratulate yourself! Congratulating yourself can be a form of art, if done well. . . or artfully.

It is good that you aren't doing this to fulfill class duties, as those tend to be art-less or are not art. I am also interested in my personal fun, which can also "are" art. i am being creative while typing by truthfully drawing a bunny. to be succinct: bunny sketch "are" art to me. this is both personal and universal in that if I were able to see my bunny drawing from as far away as the universal view it would still be so, succinctly. I agree with myself in this.

We "are" already started off, in agreement and succinctly. I considered a piece of Marrcel Duchamp's broken arm and a snow shovel. They were different in that I used one to clear my driveway tonight and the other I did not. I made art in the snow. I spelled most of my name, but ran dry.

That was art.

[Blue]

Let me just make this simple: "art" is one of a handful of English words which can mean near unlimited things. "Love" is a good example, you love you dog, mother, wife friends and your work. But to each, this is a separate emotion which actually has only a small amount in common with one another. "Art" is the same way.
It means so many different things to so many different people, the word itself is an abstract, or a vessel for message within language. A murderer can turn killing into a form of Art and so can the carpenter turn his craft into an art form. However, these two gentlemen are not referring to the same kind of "art" that a painter does, or a poet or an actor. The fact is, that two painters even argue over what can be considered "art" and the reality is the argument is subject to irresolution due to an inherent flaw within the language. In this case, the lack of language.

"Art" is a word which represents thousands of things, and should actually have at least 20 unique words to properly label the subject desired.
So, before you get lost in a hailstorm of opinions and people's "feelings" about the word, bare in mind that the search is inherently going to lead to nowhere at all, as the more you research the broader the scope of the usage you will discover, and not a single uniform consensus, or at the very least a majority opinion.


I'll also humor you and tell you my definition for the word, although I hope you pay more attention to the above then this. "Art" is the act of creating or doing something special or unique.

[Aaron Death]

It'll be a lot easier if you add a word before "art", like visual art, portrait art, Gothic art, modern art, martial art, glass art, game art, commercial, fine art...............

I don't know what you exactly refer to by art.

[Eric Young]

all art is music, since all things are sound. Since the one thing we can say about fundamental matter is, that it is vibrating. And since all vibrations are theoretically sound, then it is not unreasonable to suggest that the universe is music and should be perceived as such.

[kev ferrara]

Art delivers life changed.

[Maxine Schacker]

Main Entry:
2art Listen to the pronunciation of 2art
Pronunciation:
\ˈärt\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin art-, ars — more at arm
Date:
13th century

1: skill acquired by experience, study, or observation <the art of making friends>2 a: a branch of learning: (1): one of the humanities (2)plural : liberal arts barchaic : learning , scholarship3: an occupation requiring knowledge or skill <the art of organ building>4 a: the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects ; also : works so produced b (1): fine arts (2): one of the fine arts (3): a graphic art5 aarchaic : a skillful plan b: the quality or state of being artful6: decorative or illustrative elements in printed matter
synonyms art , skill , cunning , artifice , craft mean the faculty of executing well what one has devised. art implies a personal, unanalyzable creative power <the art of choosing the right word>. skill stresses technical knowledge and proficiency <the skill of a glassblower>. cunning suggests ingenuity and subtlety in devising, inventing, or executing <a mystery plotted with great cunning>. artifice suggests technical skill especially in imitating things in nature <believed realism in film could be achieved only by artifice>. craft may imply expertness in workmanship <the craft of a master goldsmith>.

[Sloas]

Each piece of art produced is defined by each person that views it.
Defining the piece of art also depends on the mood of the definer.
However, it also depends on the viewer's tastes, as well as mood. Do they consider this particular thing art? Some people exclude anime/manga, abstract, metalwork, as art. Does the viewer?

A single piece of art is defined as many times as it is viewed.
Not by each individual viewer, as opinions change with each view.

[kev ferrara]

Maxine, that definition can be disputed and refuted, word by word, in light of the last 40 years of art world shenanigans.

Arthur Danto recently proposed, in his very interesting book of the same name, that art was the "transfiguration of the commonplace." However, since the commonplace isn't the only subject of art, I think his thesis can be re-written as "art is the transfiguration of life". But this seems not to touch on the fact that much art is about other art.

I'm not sure my "Art delivers life changed" gets it quite right, but it gets closer to the needed inclusivity required by all the boundary breaking of the last 40 years than that outdated definition you've proffered.

Just my opinion however.

Best,
kev

[Zaxser]

Art delivers life changed.

I much preferred:

When critics start writing about the definition of art, you can tell they are bored of art. When the artist start asking it, you can tell why the critics are bored.

[r.mccabe]

Art is what it has always been. The fact that there are individuals who are renowned for signing toilets just mean that the field of art has detractors. You can call anything art but I say the common sense of what a piece of art is should rule.

Otherwise if you include toilets and shovels, I would say visual communication of an idea.

[Grief]

Art is what it has always been. The fact that there are individuals who are renowned for signing toilets just mean that the field of art has detractors. You can call anything art but I say the common sense of what a piece of art is should rule.

Otherwise if you include toilets and shovels, I would say visual communication of an idea.

yes because art needs boundaries and restrictions. possibility and advances are dumb, let's work within limitations and comfort zones. let's not appreciate the breadth of what art could be, but work within what we know it is. someone might not "get it" if we load it with too much concept.

detractors.
how dare you.

[OmenSpirits]

yes because art needs boundaries and restrictions. possibility and advances are dumb, let's work within limitations and comfort zones. let's not appreciate the breadth of what art could be, but work within what we know it is. someone might not "get it" if we load it with too much concept.

detractors.
how dare you.
Getting smart are ya?

Do I gotta do an inquisition? TO THE GALLOWS FOR YOU!

:D

[Serpian]

There was recently an outrage in Sweden when an art student faked mental illness, fought police, was put in a psych ward, restrained to her bed and given sedatives. And she faked it all. As a part of a greater art work she was working on. Her teachers said that 'art is about finding boundaries'. I think she found a pretty solid one right there.

[IIKII]

Art is everything & nothing. Art is a question & a answer.

[RyerOrdStar]

I'd say art is a question with no answers.

[kev ferrara]

art is a mystery bisected by a riddle wrapped in a toga.