What
is Art?
I. Defining Art:
No
truly definitive definitions although many abound, Why?
Societal Definitions:
Aristotle’s
Poetics:
Defined
Art by Mimesis or mimetic reproduction/imitation
"Art
is the imitation of something natural or imagined"
Goethe’s
4 E's:
Defined
Art as a Function of Society
Entertainment To
Hold Chance to Learn
Exaltation To
Inspire Chance to Understand
Edification To
Teach Chance to Discuss
Economics Needs
to be "self sufficient"
3.
Webster
"The
quality, production, or expression, of what is beautiful, appealing or of more
than ordinary significance".
Personal Definitions:
Artist
Driven:
Susan Langer (Artist
/ Author)
"Art
is the creation of forms symbolic or expressive of human feelings"
Willa Cather (Poet
Laureate)
"What
is Art but a mold in which to imprison for a moment the shining illusive moment
which is life itself, life hurrying past us and running away, to strong to stop,
to sweet to lose".
David
Byrne
(Musician / Talking Heads, "The Artist")
"I
do not have to prove that I am creative
Defined by you?
Have
you really thought about it? Why
not?
II. Factors to Consider in Designing
Your Own Definition
 | Value
and Worth? |
Should it be Considered?
| Imitation
vs. Imagination |
Is it an act of forming a mental image of something not present or existing or is it a duplication of something in nature?
| Creativity
(Actual vs. Artistic) |
Does it need to result in an actual product?
| Realism
vs. Non-Realism |
Does it need to be one or the other?
III. Towards a Practical Definition
Things
we Know:
| Art
comes from the Imagination |
| Art
is Subjective |
| Art
has nothing to do with Quantity, only quality. |
| Aesthetics
is a term used to judge Art (Taste) |
| Art
is Vicarious (Replaces an Actual Experience) |
| Art
is Mimetic |
Types
and Categories:
| Applied
vs. Fine |
Useful Crafts vs. Purely Aesthetic Creations
| Spatial
vs. Temporal |
Graphic/Plastic vs. Literary/Performing
| Autographic
vs. Allographic |
What you see is what you get vs. What
you see or hear is more...
Rules, Conventions, and Supression:
Classicism,
Neoclassicism, Romanticism
Conventions
are representative social benchmarks (Seating & Content)
Stalin
(Protocult), Franco (Guernica), Salman Rusdie (Satanic Verses)
McCarthyism
and the NEA, Issues of Support and Censorship