In my first paper, I thought that art consisted only of old paintings or sculptures showing the amazing artistic feat of man. Now, I have seen that art is actually so much more than that. I’ve found out that art is more about the expression than the end product. Modern art, already having to technically live up to that before it, demonstrates a defiance against ideas that have already dominated the art world. The typical idea that art needs to show how good one person is at a certain skill, is not the whole point. The point of art is trying to demonstrate a feeling toward a certain period of time. For example, the dada art that was created out of reaction to such a harsh, war-torn time before it portrayed one’s feelings against how that time period affected society.
Lately, art has been just this. It has been a way to react to what is happening in the world. At the time of the Renaissance, the way to react to the world was trying to show the secular, intellectual ability of mankind, while trying to separate themselves from the domination of the church. That was the major artists reaction to trying to reform or attempt to move away from the church, although many of the art at this time was also a reaction to what they believed of religion, which was essentially their whole lives. Art is more of a reaction to what people have been believing and trying to interpret their lives as. Some people take this inspiration and put it into philosophy or literature. Writers claim that their work is their art, therefore portraying how broad the term “art” truly is.
The use of the word “art” has been stretched so far that most anything can be described as art. This has been generalized so much so, that something to appealing is even claimed to be art, called an aesthetic. Aesthetics are essentially something that someone sees as attractive to them, which would be art. At this point, art can be just about anything. As opposed to trying to go against this and claim a men’s urinal is not art, I have seen how art is subjective to each person. While I may never think that a blank canvas turned on its side is worthy of being at LACMA, I do understand why the artist decided to make the decision that he did. I have accepted and understood that art is what one sees it to be, even if I don’t. That is why one cannot judge or discredit someone else’s art, because it is completely “in the eye of the beholder”.
I had a hard time trying to accept this throughout the year, but towards the end of my time studying art history I started to see it. This is because I learned that art changes and evolves, and my perception of art did not. I thought art was only something that mimicked life or showed great skill. What I did not see was the work throughout, not just the end product. So now I do not have a limit to what I think art truly is; It can be anything from the Mona Lisa to a blank canvas turned on it’s side.
Lately, art has been just this. It has been a way to react to what is happening in the world. At the time of the Renaissance, the way to react to the world was trying to show the secular, intellectual ability of mankind, while trying to separate themselves from the domination of the church. That was the major artists reaction to trying to reform or attempt to move away from the church, although many of the art at this time was also a reaction to what they believed of religion, which was essentially their whole lives. Art is more of a reaction to what people have been believing and trying to interpret their lives as. Some people take this inspiration and put it into philosophy or literature. Writers claim that their work is their art, therefore portraying how broad the term “art” truly is.
The use of the word “art” has been stretched so far that most anything can be described as art. This has been generalized so much so, that something to appealing is even claimed to be art, called an aesthetic. Aesthetics are essentially something that someone sees as attractive to them, which would be art. At this point, art can be just about anything. As opposed to trying to go against this and claim a men’s urinal is not art, I have seen how art is subjective to each person. While I may never think that a blank canvas turned on its side is worthy of being at LACMA, I do understand why the artist decided to make the decision that he did. I have accepted and understood that art is what one sees it to be, even if I don’t. That is why one cannot judge or discredit someone else’s art, because it is completely “in the eye of the beholder”.
I had a hard time trying to accept this throughout the year, but towards the end of my time studying art history I started to see it. This is because I learned that art changes and evolves, and my perception of art did not. I thought art was only something that mimicked life or showed great skill. What I did not see was the work throughout, not just the end product. So now I do not have a limit to what I think art truly is; It can be anything from the Mona Lisa to a blank canvas turned on it’s side.