What is art?
I was asked to explain my thoughts on this subject, and I thought I'd share, behind a comfortable lj-cut:
What is art?
Now that is a word that has been used for so many different things that it makes this innocent three word question difficult to answer. Artisans, con artists, escape artists, martial artists, studio artists, commercial artists, graphic artists, vocal artists, the phrase "it's an art" used on so many different tasks - fishing, poker, diplomacy, marriage, hammering a nail - virtually every occupation and hobby practiced by humankind have in one way or another been referred to as an art. However the word art first and foremost conjures up the visual artist in the common mind, yet the traits of what is art in the visual mediums occur in other mediums as well, such as music, performance or craft. I wrestled with this question as an art student in college, and the answer I arrived at was that art is extra effort by conscious choice beyond instinct to evoke an emotional and intellectual response.
In Fountain, by Marcel DuChamp, he challenged the visual art worldview of 1917 by taking the urinal from his studio, laying it down on its back, and he then signed it "R. Mutt." While he did not make the urinal, he arranged it in a different position, gave it a signature, and made the effort to have it displayed in galleries to challenge to the traditional art forms. The first studio he brought the Fountain to refused to display it - big surprise there - but it didn't stop him from reacting to the beautiful art with this urinal. He made a conscious choice to declare his piss-pot art to make other artists think and question this very thing of "what is art," and the mere idea of it evoked an emotional response in me 75 years later when one of my art history professors first exposed me to this. I had a mix of amusement as I pictured what he did, an initial gut rejection of it as a stunt and not art, and the nagging idea that more was going on with it.
By conscious choice, I mean to express that art is deliberate, thought out and planned. An accident in making the art is not ignored, but considered. If a painter accidentally spills his paint pallet on his canvas, and it looks like Jesus, then it is not art. If he does the same thing above, but considers it, and decides to keep it in the work he is making, then it is art. A poker player who "artfully" ponders his strong hand, and plays with his chips to suggest a weaker hand in an effort to string among other poker players also is making a conscious choice, and demonstrates the art of the game.
The extra effort and beyond instinct means that art is not spontaneous. A beaver's dam might look picturesque, but it is made by instinct, so it was not made specifically for the intellectual or emotional response. The extra effort of rehearsals for the performing arts gives the performers time to make conscious decisions upon the upcoming performance, so it can be tweaked for its response from the audience.
Finally, the response, both intellectually and emotionally, is the most important part of art, for it is the purpose. Everything else is the work and planning to get here. The artist grows from the effort and decisions making the art, and will have responses to it while in production, but after wards others can join in the experience. This response is how people grow. The different feelings and thoughts inspired by art challenge a person to understand a world greater than themselves. A certain band came to Austin twice for an outdoor concert, with a couple of years between each performance. The first time was just after they became a hit, and the performers were not comfortable on stage yet. The audience, from my perceptions were out for a good time, irregardless who the band was, and despite the band not being a Metal band but more Alternative, there was a mosh pit. But the second time the band came, everything was different. The people who came to this concert were all fans, the band were comfortable on stage, no mosh pit. The highlight for me from the last concert when the band's signature song was played (Lightning Crashes, by Live), and everyone was singing it. It is still a favorite song of mine enriched from that night.
What is art?
Now that is a word that has been used for so many different things that it makes this innocent three word question difficult to answer. Artisans, con artists, escape artists, martial artists, studio artists, commercial artists, graphic artists, vocal artists, the phrase "it's an art" used on so many different tasks - fishing, poker, diplomacy, marriage, hammering a nail - virtually every occupation and hobby practiced by humankind have in one way or another been referred to as an art. However the word art first and foremost conjures up the visual artist in the common mind, yet the traits of what is art in the visual mediums occur in other mediums as well, such as music, performance or craft. I wrestled with this question as an art student in college, and the answer I arrived at was that art is extra effort by conscious choice beyond instinct to evoke an emotional and intellectual response.
In Fountain, by Marcel DuChamp, he challenged the visual art worldview of 1917 by taking the urinal from his studio, laying it down on its back, and he then signed it "R. Mutt." While he did not make the urinal, he arranged it in a different position, gave it a signature, and made the effort to have it displayed in galleries to challenge to the traditional art forms. The first studio he brought the Fountain to refused to display it - big surprise there - but it didn't stop him from reacting to the beautiful art with this urinal. He made a conscious choice to declare his piss-pot art to make other artists think and question this very thing of "what is art," and the mere idea of it evoked an emotional response in me 75 years later when one of my art history professors first exposed me to this. I had a mix of amusement as I pictured what he did, an initial gut rejection of it as a stunt and not art, and the nagging idea that more was going on with it.
By conscious choice, I mean to express that art is deliberate, thought out and planned. An accident in making the art is not ignored, but considered. If a painter accidentally spills his paint pallet on his canvas, and it looks like Jesus, then it is not art. If he does the same thing above, but considers it, and decides to keep it in the work he is making, then it is art. A poker player who "artfully" ponders his strong hand, and plays with his chips to suggest a weaker hand in an effort to string among other poker players also is making a conscious choice, and demonstrates the art of the game.
The extra effort and beyond instinct means that art is not spontaneous. A beaver's dam might look picturesque, but it is made by instinct, so it was not made specifically for the intellectual or emotional response. The extra effort of rehearsals for the performing arts gives the performers time to make conscious decisions upon the upcoming performance, so it can be tweaked for its response from the audience.
Finally, the response, both intellectually and emotionally, is the most important part of art, for it is the purpose. Everything else is the work and planning to get here. The artist grows from the effort and decisions making the art, and will have responses to it while in production, but after wards others can join in the experience. This response is how people grow. The different feelings and thoughts inspired by art challenge a person to understand a world greater than themselves. A certain band came to Austin twice for an outdoor concert, with a couple of years between each performance. The first time was just after they became a hit, and the performers were not comfortable on stage yet. The audience, from my perceptions were out for a good time, irregardless who the band was, and despite the band not being a Metal band but more Alternative, there was a mosh pit. But the second time the band came, everything was different. The people who came to this concert were all fans, the band were comfortable on stage, no mosh pit. The highlight for me from the last concert when the band's signature song was played (Lightning Crashes, by Live), and everyone was singing it. It is still a favorite song of mine enriched from that night.