What is Art?
An alternative line of inquiry
Art emanates from the human experience. We create when there is a desire or a need for something new.
The sources of our creativity can be psychological, from our minds, or sociological, from our interactions with other people. Our creative motivations might be spiritual, from our inner quiet place, or they may be emotional, or even experiential, from a situation we may have witnessed in person.
Art can emanate from our minds, or relationships… or from spiritual, emotional, or physical experiences…
Art can be both product and process. The results can be final, or just a stopping point in a loop of continuous curiosity. Art can stand alone, or it can be intended to be perceived within a series or sequence.
The results or artefacts that we choose to name as art may take many forms, or may contain a plethora of messages, or may demand a high level of skill to produce. Some art is an idea in the artist’s mind with a set of instructions for someone else to carry out or construct. Other art and craft is made reverently and personally, with difficult techniques passed down through generations of artisans.
Art is product or process, touching many subjects, offering new points of view, using ancient or experimental techniques…
Art can touch many subjects and have many reasons for existing for thousands of years all over the world. It may reflect honest human expression or may perpetuate stale ideologies. Art may reveal what was suppressed, or it may offer a new point of view within a particular culture.
Art can be inspiring or mediocre, yet it stirs, touches and reminds us that there may be more to life…
Art seems to exist in a special place in our imagination, no matter what our opinion may be of a single artwork. Art can be of inspiring quality or boring and mediocre, or may convey secret thoughts or startling ideas. But art does seem to stir us, touch us, motivate us and remind us to create a richer life for ourselves…
When students studying subjects as different as engineering, nursing, masonry, and early child education were asked "What is the purpose of art?," the answers reflected a range of honest sensibilities.
reflecting the beauty of the world around me
a language of the visions we see through our eyes
what we as a species use to express ourselves
a way to communicate with others
a way to learn about the artist
to express thoughts, feelings, and creativity within an individual
can include dancing, painting, sculpture and clay
a way to be creative and explore that creative person inside of you
a way to escape from everything around me, when am stressed or feeling sad
an outlet for people to express themselves without always having to use words
an option that helps people potentially sort out and cope with the problems of the real world
allows people to connect with one another
I can sometimes connect with the artist's emotions
to elicit a reaction from people, whether that be joy, anger, sadness
a way to cope with how they perceive the world
for me, art is fantasy in motion... take something from the brain and turn it into something tangible; something that can be questioned, loved, hated, transmitted, remembered or easily forgotten...