All endings bring new beginnings

For my final blog, I figured it would be best to give you the overall idea of what I have determined to be the idea of what is the nature of art.  

While I resist defining art because it cannot be defined in simple Merriam-Webster’s dictionary terms.  If one were to write an entire dictionary with definitions of ‘art,’ then perhaps they would just begin to hit on an introductory definition of art. 

Art is anything that stimulates our brains to make us laugh, incites us into intense emotion, or makes us question either the artwork itself or some grander questions about both our outward, universal experiences and the most personal inquisitions of our inner minds and souls. It may at once be a way to express oneself and to communicate messages to anyone willing to truly “listen.”

A definition for art would be a constant struggle between a limitless number of dichotomies. Art is forever changing yet, in many ways, always the same. Art can be subjective and mean something different to every person, but it can be objective communicating universal ideas to the masses. Art is function and fun, form and content. Art is anything that makes us more thoughtful, inquisitive, well-rounded, engaged individuals.

Some may argue that art cannot be simply seen as a set of dichotomies, however, and that you must first define art to make any sort of sentences starting with “Art is...”; but while I may resist defining art in a few select words, I think it is possible to only know art through experience and a lifetime of occurrences with it—experiencing things both you and others see as art in order to grow into a fully-rounded idea of the general knowledge of what makes art, art.

      To me, art can be anything and everything; it is all around us and within us.  It is the Brillo pad in the sink or the recreation of Brillo by Warhol, the child dancing in their room or the professional ballerina on stage, and the dinner plate on the shelf or the one in use at the table.

Art cannot be defined in simply terms because it is just about anything that makes our lives as complex beings considerably richer. 

Your thoughts on art...

 

Art and its means of expression has certainly changed through time.  After having seen many examples of art as well as having studied many philosophies of what makes art, what have you developed as your individual ideas on the nature of art?

In response to Brycen...

Brycen mentions how in class, "Emotion was said to be the single factor that pulls all of what was mentioned with regards to Knowledge, Imagination, and Creativity together...Emotion or emotions are the driving or pushing force behind every single thing that we do in life. Emotions, when in the right state of mind can cause one to finish a task at hand when it seems that it will never get done...Now a question I pose, can emotions be the driving factor in everything in life, from art to leisure activities?"

I think this can be true that emotions are the driving factor in everything in life, but not necessarily the deciding factor.  While emotions can urge us to finish tasks or view a certain artwork or leisure activity in a given light, they seem to only fully drive those people who are more romantics, those who are emotionally-driven by nature.  People who use their minds more than their hearts, however, the thought-driven individuals, would likely not be driven by emotions when it comes to everything in life.

Therefore, it is possible for emotions to be the driving factor in everything in life for some, but not for all.  When it comes to art, though, I think even the thought-driven individuals can be brought to moments where emotions take over and become the driving force for their thought.

Personally, I am an emotion-driven individual and can be brought to intense moments of emotion by a work of art--a photo, a film, a painting. For any of you who are of that thought-driven group of individuals, have you had instances where this is true; instances where thought has nearly fully exited the picture and emotion taken over?