What Do You Consider Art?

Art or the phrase abstract art painting as defined by the dictionary is more of a form or an act of sorts. It is also defined as “a conscious esthetically meaningful arrangement of elements.” This definition is very confusing and really does not say much if you think about it. If you analyze the definitions and keywords you will be able to better interpret what art really means.

Conscious the first word to be examined literally means intentional. The word esthetically which comes second relates to something beautiful. The word entity can be looked at as an entity of sorts. After taking all three of these words into consideration we can now translate the definition a bit further in saying that art is executed deliberately, that art can be organized in a particular manner, and that there has to be some sense of beauty to it. Beauty is another word that can be interpreted in many different ways because it can be used to define anything, an act, a noun, or even a time period. Here we recognize a conscious effort to unveil the beauty in something.

There are many art authors who all recognize 3 major characteristics in all art pieces. Some of these authors list more than this, but we will for now we will only go over 4 of them.

First and foremost the most obvious characteristic of art is that it is made by men and also that it is intentional. Whatever the medium be it painting, sculpture, film, dance, or theatre we know that art is created for the purpose of being a type of art. It is created from something (elements) be it paint, words, waves of sound and all formed through expression.

Another characteristic of art is that these works of art always exhibit the artists feelings, thoughts, and attitudes. Through these compositions expressions are then able to be communicated and instilled into the general public.

The most exciting part of art to me is that it is original. The most obvious characteristic of art is its originality. Every song, or piece, or painting that has ever been created is done from scratch, it is a product of that artists mind. The artist has taken different things and put them together to make something new.

The last common characteristic of art is that people accept that it is art. If art is to be art then people must believe so. Art does not require that it be appreciated, it can even be considered disgraceful as long as society recognizes it as art.

See Jaclyn Hawtin’s website on Abstract Art Paintings for more details.