What is Art?

[Andreus]

How would you explain to an alien, someone completely new to human culture, what art is?

as you think, I'll give you some Wagner/Tomlin to help kick in the brain...


[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]An excerpt from the Play:[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA][FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]by Jane Wagner[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]Plymouth Theater, New York City, 1985[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]Main character : Trudy the bag lady[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]Location : A street corner in New York City [/FONT]

[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]Lilly Tomlin - 1985[/FONT]

[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]Here I am,[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]standing on the corner of "Walk, Don't Walk,"[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]waiting for these aliens from outer space to show up.[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]I call that crazy don't you. They're late as usual.[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]My space chums say they're learning so much about us.[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]They said to me, "Trudy, the human mind is so-o-o strange."[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]We think so different.[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]They find it hard to grasp some things that come easy to us,[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]because they simply don't have our frame of reference. [/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]I show'em this can of Campbell's tomato soup.[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]I say, [/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]"This is soup".[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]Then I show'em a picture of Andy Warhol's painting [/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]of a can of Campbell's tomato soup. I say,[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]"This is art." [/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]"This is soup." [/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]"And this is art." [/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]Then I shuffle the two behind my back. [/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]Now what is this? [/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]No.[/FONT]
[FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA][FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]this[/FONT] is soup and [FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]this is art![/FONT] [/FONT][FONT=ARIAL, HELVETICA]
I dread having to explain tartar sauce!
[/FONT][/FONT]

 

[puka-pride]

art = personal expression in a physical medium thats meant to grasp the attention and emotion of others

 

[Yuki Sohma]

Art is in the eye of the beholder (or is that beauty).......well maybe beauty is art therefore..............oh never mind...........

For me, art seems to be defined by the society it impacts............what is art to some may not be art to others.............

 

[dw8038r2]

Art is something that we create in order to explore and further understand the world around us, and by understanding it, gaining more control over it. It shows an insight that we had and that we wish to reflect on or share with others. It both separates and unites us.

 

[Croynan]

If you will click on each of the photos you will see them enlarged.

http://www.calendarlive.com/galleriesandmuseums/cl-et-klimt7apr07,0,4685542.story?coll=cl-art

The Lady in Gold just recently sold for $135,000,000 - the highest price ever paid for a painting and it is now in New York.

The entire exhibition was only 5 paintings and was one of the most remark exhibitions of art work I have ever seen.

The other four paintings go up for aution in October or November at Christie's in New York. The estimated total that the five paintings will bring is over $300,000,000 - but the paintings themselves and their history - are literally priceless.

Enjoy.

eM.

 

[Croynan]

To have seen the great mime, Marcel Marceau perform over a period of about 30 years. (I have forgotten the number of times)

He has made some films which are available on dvd, to my knowledge, and if you never had the opportunity to see him perform you are in for one of the finest experiences of artistry you can possibly imagine.

His Ages of Man - where he goes from childhood to death in a period of about 5 minutes is breath taking. And to have seen that performed over the years as Marceau aged was a sight to behold. The last time he was here in the states he was near 80, and you have no idea the impact of seeing him perform this work of ART on his final tour.

eM.

 

[Nonimus]

Something people have been getting away with for far too long

 

[MJ193]

Art is a persons form of expression through a particular medium....

^^What I was going to write, until I saw your post.

 

[wastingmymind]

Something people have been getting away with for far too long

It takes a lot of justification and respect for art to be called art. Same thign with the artist.

Digression: we were refreshing Islamic Art in my last Religious Art class, and in the end we realized that with the exception of Native North American art, anything created for religious purposes has stopped. Religious institutions have always been the biggest patrons in history. Coincidentally, there hasn't been a lot of respect in art coming from the regular people...

 

[Paws]

I take it you do not like that much art?

Please tick the correct answer:

[ ] I know what art is, even though people still come up with the question what it is
[ ] I believe art is something that only a few gifted and talented humans can do, whatever art is
[ ] I think I'm special because I bought something specified as "art"
[ ] I create things like everybody but I pretend what I do is "art"
[ ] LOL

 

[Andreus]

It takes a lot of justification and respect for art to be called art. Same thign with the artist.

Digression: we were refreshing Islamic Art in my last Religious Art class, and in the end we realized that with the exception of Native North American art, anything created for religious purposes has stopped. Religious institutions have always been the biggest patrons in history. Coincidentally, there hasn't been a lot of respect in art coming from the regular people...

only in the nations with Sharia law... sadly that fire is spreading over there... i hope it ends soon. while i am a muslim, i hate compelling anyone to do anything spiritual... that only creates false piety, not morality.

as we have all seen as of late.

you arent suposed to recreate things that were created by god... hence islamic art tends to be filled with geometric design.