The best answer I have ever heard to that question was not in the form of an answer but rather a statement of what art is: Art is anything that grabs your attention and produces a feeling, whether positive or negative. You have reacted, you have noticed and you have commented. That is exactly what art should do - make us pause for a moment and comment on what we are seeing.
Maybe I don't like it, maybe I think it's childish, poorly executed or simply not my taste. But I have paused, noticed and commented. Taking time from my schedule to reflect and question my own set of standards.
Within the art world there is a huge discourse on what is art and what is craft. I find that a lot more difficult to easily compartmentalize. I have an artist friend who believes that if it's not painted, sketched or drawn it belongs in another category besides art. But what about a beautiful one of a kind piece of jewelry. Was not the craftsman also an artisan - is there a difference? Sculpture is considered art but what about pottery, fabric design, calligraphy?
Where does craft end and art begin or is it a continuum or maybe a spiral or circular ideal?
Consider wabi-sabi as an art form. In its pure sense wabi-sabi suggests impermanence, assymetry and imperfection - principles diametrically opposed to those of Western artistic values.
There is an understanted beauty that exists in the modest, rustic and imperfectness of wabi-sabi. It is an aesthetic sensibility that finds beauty in the ordinary. Does this make it less than art? Can we come to an understanding of what art means personally to each of us and maybe even expand our own vision and take a leap into the unknown or untried.
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To me, art is any form of creative expression that comes forth into the world, from the heart and not the mind. Of course we use the mind to initiate the process, but when we are engaged in creating, we leave mind behind because thinking corrupts the process. It's from this deep place of feeling, where we are flowing with the boundless, that what we call 'art' is born.
ReplyDeleteTrue art evokes emotion, as you explained. Whether the object or performance or words captured on the page, appeal its audience is unimportant and subjective. What matters is that a soul connection between people is made when something we see, feel or touch makes us take pause.