Wednesday, December 10, 2008

"Life doesn't imitate art, it imitates bad television.”

(Woody Allen)
The other day in class you received a printed copy of a list of responses to a question posed by the Yale Art Gallery: "What is art and why does it matter?" (The link is below if you misplaced the list.) Now's your chance to respond. So what is art? And why does it matter?
(You may choose to respond without reading the list - or previous bloggers' responses - in order to ensure that your answer is yours, and is not affected by someone else's response.)

16 comments:

amanda bollacker said...

Art is exceptionally important to some people, and to some it isn't. I know I have a hard time sitting through class or homework without doodling something that comes into my head. I think for me, art is not just an abstract expression and it is not just a portrait of life as we know it. Art is the ability to take something huge and reduce it to a few small but important details. An artist's picture of a tree isn't just a dumb everyday tree. It's the way the artist portrays the tree that's important, it gives meaning to a thing that otherwise would go unnoticed. Maybe it's the scarred bark, or the sun making the leaves drip with light. For years I've worked on learning human faces. The expressions that happen in the face are so full of life, so emotional. They are a way for everyone to connect. In art, everyone may not have the same opinion of a piece but they can certainly all agree that art gives life to the lifeless.

kelsey said...

Art is traces of human existance left behind. It matters because is alows us to grow from others past experiences and to understand our selves better. Each generation only gets so far when it come to figuring things out and art allows the next geration to not only pick up where the last one left off but to interprate their findings for themselves and maybe use them for something new. Art is life on paper, canvous, walls, brick, stone, plaster, clay, the internet, or anything else that someone can think of, it is the huamn way to prosses life with out words and sometimes even subconsiously.

laurenD said...

Art is everything. Everything is art. The scope of art spans beyond the classic image of a still life painting to musical expression, the presentation of food, the traditional dances of a country, literary works, the footwork of a figure skater...The list of things and activities defining art is infinite.

All of the previous shed light upon identity, hinting that art reveals human composition. We are the visual perspective that we portray on a canvas, the songs we listen to, the food we eat, our native dances, our writing, and the sports that we play. The fact that everyone interprets these forms of art in their own way illustrates that art positively shapes and separates us from others to an even higher degree. Art is also crucial in allowing us to communicate on scores of different levels. Emotional and physical communication are achieved through theater, film, poetry, dreams, and even kissing.

Allie said...

Art is peoples reactions to situations they face in the world. It may be the way they perceive it, or the way they wish things went. But it is still affected by what goes on in the artists life, therefore a representation of some part of their life. Art can come from deep inside a person (from deep in their subconscious) or it can be as shallow as new things that someone wants. Art can not be defined for everyone as a whole, it is something that is different for every person on the planet, different because no two people live exactly the same lives there are always differences. Each person has a different way of expressing themselves.

SebbyCastro said...

This is my own defintion of what is art and why it's important. I believe that art is a freedom of expression. I don't look at art just in the sense of a painting, but I look at it through music, nature, athletics, and some other stuff. Of course a hail mary thrown by Peyton Manning in the final seconds of the game isn't as extraordinary as The Mona Lisa. But to me it could be considered art. Art is anything that can leave someone in awe. There are different variations of this, but art is more than just a piece of paper and some crayons. If something can give off meaning, then it is considered art to me. Art is anything that can leave a lasting impression on someone.

(For example, Mr. Cianflone's lectures are very impressionable to all of us. ;-)

Art is important because it is a release to so many people. It could be used to express the way one feels and that person would be understood. Art is important because it is another way to speak to somebody. Through art you can express a lot, more than just 1,000 words. Art lets you enter another person's life, another person's world. After you've viewed their masterpiece, you can better understand them, and it results in better relationships (not just boyfriend/girlfriend). Being able to understand somebody else makes you a stronger person, you can bare more and deal with more than before. This is why art is important. Art will be the main source that builds our society and future societies, just like it built past societies.

KatieL said...

Art is a way to show yourself. It is extremely important. For many people it is their only way of expressing or communicating their feelings. When an artist paints or draws, they are truley spilling his or her own deepest thoughts or wants onto a blank piece of paper. If there wasn't art, less people would have a voice. There are numerous types of art that display an emotion that a person may just not be able to display in persion but within their art is like taking a deeper look into their soul. Art can speak to you and build up a reaction that is unreal. The best thing about art is it is up to interpretation. You may look at one piece and what you believe may be something entirely different from the person next to you. It's as if you can make it what you want it to be as long as it touches you in some way the artist has done his or her job. You can not escape art and will never be able to you.

dovile said...

so i did the whole not looking at other people's comments thing so i dont know if im repeating anyone. i think art is something which we all are, so therefore, i am art. i am my own variation of it, we all are, because art represents our deepest thoughts and the subconscious. i cannot think about art, because then it is not real art, it's practiced, and therefore an imitation. to make
REAL art you have to take spraypaint, a pencil, a crayon or anything even to make it into something that reflects thoughts and feeling and memories that you can't even think of or remember when trying to.

michelle said...

To me, art is the human condition and the expression of such. In any way that someone expresses himself, whether it be through painting, words, or actions - that is a type of art. It isn't limited to what people typically view art as, to what can be seen in a museum. Art is all around us. It is a part of our existence and is created by our existence. And that is why it is so important. Through art, we learn about who we are and about who others are. We express ourselves in ways that transcend the material and form meaning. I know this sounds fairly lofty, but it is what I feel art is.

carla c. said...

When I was in elementary school and went on the class trip to an art museum every year, I always thought it was a waste of time, boring and pointless. Since then, I have come to really appreciate art through taking several art classes in high school and learning about what goes into the creation of a work of art. Just by viewing a piece of art, you can relate to human emotions, perspectives, and reflections of life. By focusing on the way an artist depicts an aspect of life or a particular time period, you can connect with a different world back in time. Most importantly perhaps is how art pieces that are hundreds of years old continue to be analyzed and learned from.

Pauly P said...

The dictionary definiton is "human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature". How true, but that is only the surface of what art is. I agree with everyone, but mostly with Lauren: art is everything, or nearly everything. Even if one person is willing to call something art, then it is art(at least to them). Just think of what the Dadaists did, they took pictures of toilets and drew moustaches on Mona Lisa's face; therfore, even anti-art is art. Are video games art? Is porn art? Art can be whatever you want it to be as long as it's man-made: a tree is not art (unless we're referring to nature's art), a photo of tree can be art though. All of a person's emotion, their fears, memories, and aspirations are poured onto a canvas, screamed at a audience, or splattered all over the walls(as Raskolnikov's case was)... Art doesn't have to be beautiful or ugly, and it doesn't have to represent the artist (just think about commercial art or portrait-painters fot hire). At can be thought provoking, but doesn't have to be, especilly for those of us who don't think too much. We need art; art allows us to be introspective and ask ourselves what we think this thing is. It allows us to build our own identity because we also "imitate, supplement, alter, and counteract" our appearance or the world around us. So maybe everything really is art. Personally though, I don't think a pencil-sharpener or a bag of chips are art; I think art is too sacred to be degraded into something so souless. Look into the artist's mind: do they think it is art? If so, then it must be. Otherwise just make your own definition up. Also:THIS POST IS ART!

Brenda said...

ok, without reading the list or other comments, I think that art is the expression of feeling. Not just any feelings but the deepest feelings in your heart. Whether it is singing about a lost love or painting a quiet, peaceful scene, art expresses what you really inside, showing others who you really are.

Anonymous said...

Tough question....
Art can't have a solid definition, because art is interpreted differently from person to person. But things that all art have in common is creativity. The person who created the work of art chose to be creative in whatever way, for whatever reason.
Art also has the ability to make people think. Art can inspire, question, and cause people to reflect and wonder. Art is something that is there for a reason, however small, trivial or silly it is. Art has many different aspects, and a thousand different ways to understand it.

Most importantly, art brings light into the world. Art is an escape for some people, where they can show their emotions and ideas to the world, without directly unveiling them. Art is important to our life because without it, we would be stuck in a black and white world.

Anonymous said...

Art is the human experience. It is the medium by which every emotion of the human mind is visualized and vocalized. Every "form" of art, ranging from paintings to interpretive music, embodies a human feeling or reaction to something. So, any type of human reaction or feeling that is expressed outside the inner-mind is by definition art. Art is essential to a people and a culture because it is the continuance of the mind's thoughts. By understanding art and its value, we can can acquire a better understanding of the emotions, feelings, and thoughts that its creators used to put together a piece of work. And with a better understanding of this, we can grow more sensitive to the human condition that such insight has provided us with.

Sanjana said...

Art is everywhere and everything. It's the expression of the human condition. And that expression is different for everyone because everyone has a different perspective. If you take a given object/scene, one person may see something part more important than the rest while you see that same part as insignificant. I think art is important because it embraces individualism and freedom--making one person different from the next. Art, as a whole, reflects the complexity of the human race.

Ellen said...

Art is a way of expressing yourself so you can share your experiences or feelings with others. music is the easiest form of art for me to use and express myself with. art matters because it is a persons true and real fealings, it is something that they take the time to express in any form that they feel comfortable with. if we didnt have art in our lives I am not sure how I would be happy, personally the things that make me happy are music, books, movies, and other forms of the arts, if they were not around my life would be drastically different.

Kristen Stewart said...

I'm going to go a different way with this and say that I never really undeerstood the concept of what art IS. Like, what makes some things art and some things junk? Why is one picture in a gallery and another collecting dust in someone's basement. It's always confused me. I dont think there is such a thing as good art. Some people get lucky and famous off of their expressions. And all of a sudden their art is "good art".
regardless, I think that's the point. Art is whatever someone makes it. to some it is music, to some it is drawings or paintings. And to others it is comedy. Art is the idea that we can express ourselves in a way that makes us different. However, do I believe that as many people should try "art" as do? No. Some people need to understand that they weren't meant to express themselves. Ever. And some people's art strikes a chord with everyone. And it becomes famous.
PS: In case you couldn't tell yet, I'm doing these blogs at a NEw Year's Eve party becasue i forgot. Your welcome.