Art is all around us

 What is art and how do we define it? Google’s definition is “ the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.” I want to focus specifically on the last part. Depending on the person, something may be considered art if it is beautiful or if it is meaningful. But beauty and meaning are subjective. Can something beautiful simply exist without any inherent meaning? Can something ugly yet meaningful be considered beautiful? 


Is this art?



A great example of beautiful things simply existing is nature. No human being created nature. Trees, animals, plants, etc. were not sculpted by an artist to convey some deep meaning. So if there is no inherent meaning about the natural world, why do we consider it beautiful? Why do we believe sunsets are beautiful but overcast skies aren’t? Nature exists simply to exist yet people still find a way to find to be emotionally moved by it.



Is this Art?


Aesthetically pleasing things like sunsets are considered art but so are depressing, abstract paintings. Picasso is famous for his paintings, but they are squiggly lines on a canvas half the time. The painting Saturn Devouring His Son by Goya is considered a very popular art piece, yet it is gruesome and horrific to look at (Don’t search it up if you don’t like blood). Many movies and books are praised not for being aesthetically pleasing but for their emotional, moving stories. 


 I’ve been contemplating too much in order to reach the word count, so I’ll give my two cents about our relationship to art. Art is anything that satisfies our instinct to understand ourselves and our world. We find nature beautiful because we feel connected to our surroundings. We find abstract art beautiful because it helps us interpret our own feelings about the world . Oscar Wilde says that those who try to interpret art do so at their own peril, and he is right. Meaning and beauty can be found in any movie, book, painting, sculpture, and human interaction, but only if you want to see it there. Art is all around us.


Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 22, 2022 at 7:09 PM

    I really like the way you use examples of things people consider art. It helps me to understand what you mean by humans trying to find a way to see art in places where it might not actually be there.

    ReplyDelete
  2. BrianMay 22, 2022 at 8:34 PM

    I enjoyed the way you expanded on what art can be as a form, rather than say just a pretty painting or statue, but something that means something

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anurag KomaragiriMay 22, 2022 at 8:54 PM

    This blog was very thought provoking. Your use of rhetorical questions is a great method of conveying your views of art. Also, I think your discussion of nature is very interesting. How can we perceive nature if it hasn't been applied any meaning, or if there is no inherent meaning in it? I really loved your use of the google definition and picasso as an example. They really brought home your meaning and the connotations you were trying to bring to art.

    ReplyDelete

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