What is art?

The eternal question.............
Let's set the cat amongst the pigeons. Art is a secret traded for sea shells on the windswept shores of Ontology.
Discuss.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Dov Lederberg on February 24, 2009 at 10:28am: The Hebrew word for art is
A-M-N אמן which shares the three-letter root and nexus of meaning with the Hebrew words for Faith and Truth.
Hopefully, I am involved with all three.
Dov Lederberg
http://www.dovlederberg.com; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Johnna on March 15, 2009 at 12:04am: Art is what the individual perceives it to be. Art is ever-changing, multidimensional, expressive of not just the self, but in every form of nature and the supernatural.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by mike hinc on March 15, 2009 at 12:39am: Aren't you just saying that art is everything?

Art4TheHomeless said:
Art is what the individual perceives it to be. Art is ever-changing, multidimensional, expressive of not just the self, but in every form of nature and the supernatural.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Tommy Potenza on March 15, 2009 at 2:16pm: is everything
art is what u make
art is everywere; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by mike hinc on March 15, 2009 at 2:21pm: So what is "not art"?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by dawn hilton on March 15, 2009 at 5:39pm: A Rat is not art, but it is spelt the same way!

But if you look at 'Banksy's' ART, you will see arty Rat's all over the walls all over the world.x; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by mike hinc on March 15, 2009 at 6:14pm: Ah.... but Dawn - how can a rat not be art when we've just been told that"everything" is art?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by dawn hilton on March 15, 2009 at 9:49pm: Well Mike if Banksy says a Rat is Art then who am I to argue with?

I guess Art is anything any artist says.x

mike hinc said:
Ah.... but Dawn - how can a rat not be art when we've just been told that"everything" is art?; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Alex Ogilvie on March 22, 2009 at 4:42pm: What is not art? hmmm... I agree that everything can't be art. I suppose that anything that has the intention to be art is.

A sun flower may be beautiful, but it is just what it is. A painting of a sun flower is also not art, it is just a 2D impression of a flowers appearance. A photograph of a piece of cheese stuck on an elephant with the title "sunflower" is also not art.

I find something another has "created", it stops me; I ask why, how, what, when. I think I understand but then must return because I'm not sure. I then say "Ahh... Cheese", the title says "No, sun flower", I don't understand why. I return to the creation. I look for the artist, they're not here. I take a photo, put it on my wall and the artist visits. They say: "so you liked the cheese". I say "no, it's a sun flower". The artist laughs and pulls a hankerchief out of his pocket and asks "have you seen this? it's cheese too". I say "I don't like this" and return to the photo. The artist says "why are you looking at that? It's not art".

My point? I'm not sure. With MY "art", if I can get someone to do a double take and exclaim "No way!..." I think I'm on the right track (if that was my intention). One piece I did was very subtle coloured rectangles in oil, painted on roofing slates. Most people didn't see the colours and just saw the slates as they walked past to view something interesting elsewhere. I liked it as this was my intention (it took ages to get the colours and finish right). Someone once said it was my best piece, even though most people didn't see it. Was it not art? no.

Anyway, the topic what is not art is much more interesting. I've painted a lot of not art. Sadly it's this I've been paid for. Cheers.

Alex

p.s. I recently showed someone a photo I'd took. They liked it and started talking about colour and composition. After a while I explained it was a sunset and they were holding the photo upside down. I think at that moment it became not art (to them anyway).; ▶ Reply to This