What is Art?
My Definition of Art:
Something produced, performed or recorded for its purely ideological or aesthetic value. However, some things which are produced primarily for monetary gain or at the request of someone other than the ‘artist’ still contain strong artistic elements, such as a focus on symbolism, aesthetics, or ideology. Also, some things which were not considered art by their creator may later be considered art by others, meaning intention is not always as crucial as reception and interpretation. However, the reverse is also true (interpretation is not always as important as intention). I also tend to think of art from a relativist perspective (what is art for one person may not be art for another).
Other Definitions:
Realist (aesthetic value is absolute and independent of individual interpretation)
“The artist alone sees spirits. But after he has told of their appearing to him, everybody sees them.�
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, author of ‘Faust’.
“Very few people possess true artistic ability. It is therefore both unseemly and unproductive to irritate the situation by making an effort. If you have a burning, restless urge to write or paint, simply eat something sweet and the feeling will pass.�
- Fran Lebowitz, writer.
“The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life.�
- William Faulkner, writer.
Objectivist (aesthetic value is absolute but dependent on individual interpretation)
“It has been said that art is a tryst, for in the joy of it maker and beholder meet.�
- Kojiro Tomita, curator.
“Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression.�
- Isaac Bashevis Singer, author.
Relativist (aesthetic value is dependent on individual interpretation)
“Art is not the application of a canon of beauty but what the instinct and the brain can conceive beyond any canon. When we love a woman we don't start measuring her limbs.�
- Pablo Picasso, painter.
“There is no such thing as inaccuracy in a photograph. All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth.�
- Richard Avedon, photographer.
“Nothing exists until or unless it is observed. An artist is making something exist by observing it. And his hope for other people is that they will also make it exist by observing it. I call it "creative observation." Creative viewing.�
- William S. Burroughs, novelist.