Last night was fun. I'll post something more serious later, for now, this is the math genius I talked about last night... as per laid back intense, find it here. Another angle of propaganda art is this anti-holocaust exhibit in Iran. Pretty bizarre.
I find that it is easier to say what is not-art than try to define what is-art. Can one person say that one particular piece is more significant than another? For example, place a Rodin bronze sculpture next to a brass lamp of a naked woman with a clock in her belly. The Rodin will of course be chosen as superior in concept and execution and the real work of art by consensus. But I put before you now, the irrefutable fact that, no matter how much the Rodin manifests itself as more of a lofty piece of art than the clock bellied brass lamp you can never in a million years, tell the time from the Auguste Rodin!
To continue my response from the other day about a comparison of bronze apples, pears and chronometers; I would like to hurl up another analogy in the story of the six blind men and the elephant. It goes something like this: There were six blind men standing around a rather docile elephant (There were originally seven, but unfortunately the elephant sat down). The first blind man who was near the trunk and said, “Behold, the elephant is like a mighty python snake.” The second blind man who was by the tail said, “Surely, the elephant is like a cattail reed.” The third blind man who was by a leg said, “Stop calling me Shirley, and obviously the elephant is like a mighty tree trunk.” The other three gave their opinion which we will skip due to my tea pot is boiling and I am looking forward to a nice cup of Uncle Lees green teas and further more they are only pushing their own myopic point of view (unfortunate blind choice of phrase under the circumstance).
The point being that art is the elephant and humanity are/is the blind men (non- gender specific blind people). The elephant is simply manifesting all its elephantine charms and even for the sighted, is too close and too large for any one person to see it in its entirety. Furthermore in arrogance or for personal reasons the parties involved feel compelled to stubbornly propose that their view (literally) is the true view of the elephant element.
To take it further, let me propose that the elephant’s eyes, the renaissance of perspective, the left raised eyebrow represents impressionism, his right eyebrow modernism, his navel dada, his left buttock post modernism, his right buttock expressionism and his asshole, is reserved for future comparisons.
This topic is like participating in a never-ending critique. Since all answers are worthwhile in this debate, I assume the greater purpose here to just loosen up and to practice expressing ourselves about art from various sides of the elephant.
Other places on the web describe art as "the product of human creativity", "the creation of beautiful or significant things", a superior skill that you can learn by study and practice and observations, "the expression of creativity or imagination or both".
All three of these definitions include an intention and a result of some kind.
As a person who has been participating in art classes for over a decade now, when I look at my own work, many of the things I have done I would consider to be in the category of task completed. For example, a class assignment was to make 10 8" or taller cylinders out of clay. Weeks go by and by the end of it there are 10 cylinders. But for me, every once in a while there is a piece that represents a transition in my growth. Those are the pieces I keep to inspire me. To inform me of my personal breakthrough. These items to me move from craft into art. They represent an understanding or the raising of the bar or intention that exceeds the sum of the parts that it took to make the piece. So, I see art as a synergy captured within the manipulated materials.
7 comments:
I tried to boil down a definition of art to the fewest words possible and I came up with:
"human expression in a visual esthetic"
Michele
Not bad, but how about Jessica's point (of the possibility of non-visual aesthetic expression (like music)?
I have no protest with poetry or music or dance being considered art as well but for the purpose of this class it seems the focus is on the visual.
So visual esthetic could be changed to
verbal esthetic, melodius esthetic or articulated esthetic for other art forms.
I find that it is easier to say what is not-art than try to define what is-art. Can one person say that one particular piece is more significant than another? For example, place a Rodin bronze sculpture next to a brass lamp of a naked woman with a clock in her belly. The Rodin will of course be chosen as superior in concept and execution and the real work of art by consensus. But I put before you now, the irrefutable fact that, no matter how much the Rodin manifests itself as more of a lofty piece of art than the clock bellied brass lamp you can never in a million years, tell the time from the Auguste Rodin!
The Elephant and the Art Critics.
To continue my response from the other day about a comparison of bronze apples, pears and chronometers; I would like to hurl up another analogy in the story of the six blind men and the elephant. It goes something like this: There were six blind men standing around a rather docile elephant (There were originally seven, but unfortunately the elephant sat down). The first blind man who was near the trunk and said, “Behold, the elephant is like a mighty python snake.” The second blind man who was by the tail said, “Surely, the elephant is like a cattail reed.” The third blind man who was by a leg said, “Stop calling me Shirley, and obviously the elephant is like a mighty tree trunk.” The other three gave their opinion which we will skip due to my tea pot is boiling and I am looking forward to a nice cup of Uncle Lees green teas and further more they are only pushing their own myopic point of view (unfortunate blind choice of phrase under the circumstance).
The point being that art is the elephant and humanity are/is the blind men (non- gender specific blind people). The elephant is simply manifesting all its elephantine charms and even for the sighted, is too close and too large for any one person to see it in its entirety. Furthermore in arrogance or for personal reasons the parties involved feel compelled to stubbornly propose that their view (literally) is the true view of the elephant element.
To take it further, let me propose that the elephant’s eyes, the renaissance of perspective, the left raised eyebrow represents impressionism, his right eyebrow modernism, his navel dada, his left buttock post modernism, his right buttock expressionism and his asshole, is reserved for future comparisons.
Erin: How about an essay for the journal of aesthetics? This is the address: http://www.temple.edu/jaac/currentissue.htm
This topic is like participating in a never-ending critique. Since all answers are worthwhile in this debate, I assume the greater purpose here to just loosen up and to practice expressing ourselves about art from various sides of the elephant.
Other places on the web describe art as "the product of human creativity", "the creation of beautiful or significant things", a superior skill that you can learn by study and practice and observations, "the expression of creativity or imagination or both".
All three of these definitions include an intention and a result of some kind.
As a person who has been participating in art classes for over a decade now, when I look at my own work, many of the things I have done I would consider to be in the category of task completed. For example, a class assignment was to make 10 8" or taller cylinders out of clay. Weeks go by and by the end of it there are 10 cylinders. But for me, every once in a while there is a piece that represents a transition in my growth. Those are the pieces I keep to inspire me. To inform me of my personal breakthrough. These items to me move from craft into art. They represent an understanding or the raising of the bar or intention that exceeds the sum of the parts that it took to make the piece. So, I see art as a synergy captured within the manipulated materials.
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