Art?

What is Art?

Art is “the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance,” according to Dictionary.com but to many others art cannot be defined. Philippe de Montebello, director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, agrees and believes that there is "no consensus about anything today” (What is Art?).

Art is a way for humans to be creative and convey themselves whether through color, texture or content. Art can be made in any shape and from practically anything. Many well known pieces of art are made from various kinds of paint and drawing materials, but art can also be made from ceramics, metal, wood, fabrics, plastics... it can even be a collage of junk. Some art combines many art forms. For example, photography, ceramics, metalwork, collage - these can all be incorporated into a painting, or vice versa.

Thomas McEvilley, an art historian, agrees that today "more or less anything can be designated as art" (What is art?). Desks, fish tanks, candy, shoes, forks, TV, music—everything is art. People may not realize as they are walking the streets shopping or sitting at their desk doing nightly homework, but everyone is surrounded by some form of art every day.

If people imagined a world without art where would our world be? Some people rely on art as their passion and a simple way of expressing themselves. Art is such an enormous ingredient of people’s daily lives. Art can cheer people up or bring them down. Art can inspire, motivate, and excite people’s brains within a mere matter of seconds. It can imply many things, create many moods, or simply celebrate something as basic as form or color.

The list of what is art could go on for what feels like forever but it is safe to say: art is something that is beautiful, functional, personal, and expressed.

Works Referenced

"The 101 Most Important Painters of All Time." TheArtWolf.com - Art and the...