Interesting discussion, hope you don't mind if I jump in.
Much as beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I think art is in the mind of the artist. But there is much more to it than that.
Any act of creation is an act of art. Some good, whatever that means and some not so good, whatever that means.
I do art, I commit the act of art, art happens to me, I cause art to happen to others. Not all that I do is art (of course). Whether the art I do moves my soul or the soul of anyone else, determines its utility as art. A child's first drawing is not yet understood as art by the child, but may be treasured as art by his parents. The rest of the world is unmoved, has seen it all before, and cares not how the blue crayon strokes intersect playfully with the red and the green.
I bring meaning to the artifacts of my culture, including its art, the meaning of the artifact is not an inherent quality of the item itself. In this sense nothing that is art is unintended although the degree of intention on the part of the artist in his act of creation and on the part of the audience in their apprehension of the act as art is certainly not a universal constant.
Everyone is an artist. Every act of creation is an act of art. Not all art moves the soul. Not all art is "good." Taste (pun not intended) is not art. Skill is not art. Although both contribute to making art "good" whatever that means.
Everyone is an artist.
PCM |
