Not Just a Form of Expression: Revised
When asked to define art, people’s definitions will vary depending on who you ask. Technically, it is a form of visual expression using human skill and creativity which others appreciate. However, art is much more than that. Art is a depiction of the culture and society during which it was created. There is always a deeper meaning or reason behind the piece of art. How is it possible that the canvas with a single black dot in the middle displayed in the art museum is considered art? Couldn’t anyone without any knowledge of art create something almost identical? Take for example a preschoolers crayon drawing. What sets apart the black dot on a blank canvas in the museum and a child’s drawing that he’s done in school is the meaning behind it. The creator of the piece of art takes into account the culture during the current time and makes something that has some meaning behind it.
One condition of something being considered art is the deeper meaning intended to be conveyed in the artwork. For example, take Grant Woods’s American Gothic. While it may seem like Woods is just painting an old, grumpy-looking farming couple, there is so much more too it than what is visually painted on the canvas. Woods made American Gothic as a satire. Contrary to popular belief, the man and woman in the painting are not married, but are Woods’s sister and the local dentist. This can account for the awkward posing of the man and woman who don’t really know each other that well. The satire of this painting relates to the farm house in the background. The satirical message Woods is trying to portray in the painting is the different lifestyles of Europeans and Americans. Gothic in Europe is seen as extravagant architecture that is usually seen in cathedrals. This architecture is very elaborate and expensive. Woods is calling the “American Gothic” the beaten-down farmhouse in the background which is cheaply made. With this background information, Woods’s American Gothic painting has a deeper meaning which makes this visual piece actual art.
During my year in AP Art History, I have been able to expand my knowledge on art and have come to some new conclusions about what the definition of art is. While I still agree with my previous statements about art from the beginning of the year, my thoughts have expanded with the studies of art throughout the world and throughout time. Beginning with Paleolithic wall paintings of the Running Horned Woman, up to the Modernist paintings of Matisse, art is created by the people as a form of communication. Just like language, art conveys a message that is applicable to time period to which it was created. Art has constantly been questioned throughout history with works such as Duchamp’s Fountain. Duchamp claimed that the readymade urinal he bought in which he only etched the name R. Mutt was a piece of art. Controversy broke out over this - if a urinal a man bought at a store is considered art, then isn’t everything art? Or, in my opinion, maybe what makes Fountain a work of art is not the actual object itself, but the discussion it created within the art community. In this case, art does not even have to be something that people visually see, but it is a way of life that throughout history, has been integrated into our world.
Throughout time, art has been an important aspect in the culture. However, with the changing time, people’s ideas of what art is has varied. The question then arises of what is not art then? Similar to the answer to what is art, it varies depending who you are and where you live. When people look at art, they consider all aspects of life, including personal experiences. With that being said, art is extremely difficult to be defined into one simple definition because the culture and meaning behind the work of art must be taken into account.
When asked to define art, people’s definitions will vary depending on who you ask. Technically, it is a form of visual expression using human skill and creativity which others appreciate. However, art is much more than that. Art is a depiction of the culture and society during which it was created. There is always a deeper meaning or reason behind the piece of art. How is it possible that the canvas with a single black dot in the middle displayed in the art museum is considered art? Couldn’t anyone without any knowledge of art create something almost identical? Take for example a preschoolers crayon drawing. What sets apart the black dot on a blank canvas in the museum and a child’s drawing that he’s done in school is the meaning behind it. The creator of the piece of art takes into account the culture during the current time and makes something that has some meaning behind it.
One condition of something being considered art is the deeper meaning intended to be conveyed in the artwork. For example, take Grant Woods’s American Gothic. While it may seem like Woods is just painting an old, grumpy-looking farming couple, there is so much more too it than what is visually painted on the canvas. Woods made American Gothic as a satire. Contrary to popular belief, the man and woman in the painting are not married, but are Woods’s sister and the local dentist. This can account for the awkward posing of the man and woman who don’t really know each other that well. The satire of this painting relates to the farm house in the background. The satirical message Woods is trying to portray in the painting is the different lifestyles of Europeans and Americans. Gothic in Europe is seen as extravagant architecture that is usually seen in cathedrals. This architecture is very elaborate and expensive. Woods is calling the “American Gothic” the beaten-down farmhouse in the background which is cheaply made. With this background information, Woods’s American Gothic painting has a deeper meaning which makes this visual piece actual art.
During my year in AP Art History, I have been able to expand my knowledge on art and have come to some new conclusions about what the definition of art is. While I still agree with my previous statements about art from the beginning of the year, my thoughts have expanded with the studies of art throughout the world and throughout time. Beginning with Paleolithic wall paintings of the Running Horned Woman, up to the Modernist paintings of Matisse, art is created by the people as a form of communication. Just like language, art conveys a message that is applicable to time period to which it was created. Art has constantly been questioned throughout history with works such as Duchamp’s Fountain. Duchamp claimed that the readymade urinal he bought in which he only etched the name R. Mutt was a piece of art. Controversy broke out over this - if a urinal a man bought at a store is considered art, then isn’t everything art? Or, in my opinion, maybe what makes Fountain a work of art is not the actual object itself, but the discussion it created within the art community. In this case, art does not even have to be something that people visually see, but it is a way of life that throughout history, has been integrated into our world.
Throughout time, art has been an important aspect in the culture. However, with the changing time, people’s ideas of what art is has varied. The question then arises of what is not art then? Similar to the answer to what is art, it varies depending who you are and where you live. When people look at art, they consider all aspects of life, including personal experiences. With that being said, art is extremely difficult to be defined into one simple definition because the culture and meaning behind the work of art must be taken into account.
