The next blog opportunity (for extra credit) will be posted once we start reading Disgraced.
ENG2002 Intro. to Lit: Drama, Spr2019
A City Tech OpenLab Course Site
The next blog opportunity (for extra credit) will be posted once we start reading Disgraced.
The OpenLab is an open-source, digital platform designed to support teaching and learning at City Tech (New York City College of Technology), and to promote student and faculty engagement in the intellectual and social life of the college community.
There are many forms of art. In a general sense, art is human expression of imagination, but art can be anything created that evokes an emotion in the audience. What is art to some people is nothing to others, for example in the play Art by Yazmina Reza where the character Marc is very bothered by his friend Serge’s decision to spend money on something he didn’t see as art by his own personal definition. It is not up to others to decide what qualifies as art and what does not since it is a personal experience. It is up to only the artist and the individual who sees it as art to determine that it is art, and monetary value does not change this.
Great post! Nice work relating your ideas back to the play. Yes, art can be very personal! That said, it’s such a huge business as well. But, I agree with you, if I see something as art, even if someone else thinks it’s worthless from a monetary perspective.
Art is an expression of one’s feelings, thoughts and or emotions. Art is also the telling of one’s story or someone else’s story. Art can also be considered anything from a beautiful statue to a long mathematical problem that has been solved. Art is endless meaning there are no criteria and there are no walls. The person that decides what is art is the artist her or himself. And as far as price goes all art is priceless. The selling of art is just another way for humans to make money so, someone decides how much some art costs. But, in the natural law of things any art from a humans mind is priceless.
I love your observation that art is the telling of one’s story or someone else’s story. And, yes, I agree about the math problem! Sometimes it’s not only the maker of the art who decides it is art, but the viewer or “experiencer.” Sometimes you will see something that was not created as “art” but it touches you in a certain way, and, therefore, is art to you.
Okay so I, personally, do not have a criteria for how art should be considered art. I believe it is all about how to the individual connects to the piece of art or what their mind is telling them that it is. If I see graffiti on the side of a building, it would evaluate it well enough to probably connect to it on a better level, someone else may just take a glance and see it as total garbage. It’s all about the individuals views on it. Also, your own personal interests come into play when you are looking at a piece of art, things like your values, thoughts and opinions on certain things. I personally feel like art can be called art if I can take something from it after seeing it. I also consider something art if I am able to get challenged by it. Art is considered art when the person viewing it accepts, after careful evaluation or their own analyzation, that it is art. Someone may even consider garbage a form of art, its all about how the person connects to it or the value of it.
Yes! Excellent! Re: your comment about garbage being considered art: a long time ago, I walked by a garbage bag on the sidewalk that had been burned. It was melted into what looked like a beautiful sculpture. And I thought to myself, “this is art!”
Also, my favorite line of your post is: “I also consider something art if I am able to get challenged by it.” Exactly.
My compliments! I enjoyed reading your post and I completely agree with everything you said. I liked what you said, that ” art can be called art” if you take a message from it. Sometimes in a piece of art, you find yourself awaking a childhood memory, and sometimes you compare the simplicity of a canvas with an emptiness of your soul. Not everyone receives the same message from exhibiting the same piece of art. I really enjoyed every sentence of your post!
Great response to Katrine! And you’ve added excellent thoughts as well. Nice work!
From my own understanding of art, I think art is presenting a piece of idea on a surface. That idea doesn’t really need to make sense to everyone as long as the artist is able to express their idea on a surface. I believe that any form of creativity, from drawing to painting can be qualified to be called a piece of visual artwork.
With or Without colors, it can still be considered an artwork as long as the artist thoroughly represents their idea to send a message in some cases or other may just do it for fun. Others may have different interpretations about an art work different from what the artist is trying to convey but that is exactly what makes art engaging.
People can decide and say their own opinion about how they see a piece of artwork. For example, in the play ‘ART’, Antrios is probably trying to send a message with those fine white strips on a white surface which Serge might not even understand but to his point of view, he might interpret it to be pleasurable to look while Marc thinks the artwork is NOTHING. So it really just depends on how each person sees it. Visual art work doesn’t have to be monetary though famous artworks are very expensive. I think is anything the the artist comes up which satisfy them that it is an art work.
Excellent observations! Yes, your idea that art connects with the artist’s intentions, even though his/her intentions may not always be obvious, is right on point!
Art can be considered to be many things. Art can be a painting, an object, even a plate of food is a work of art. Art to me isn’t about the fanciness of the painting. Or the elegant strokes of the brush. To me art is the emotion that is created when making a piece of art work. If the artist can achieve to make me feel a certain way when i look at their perception of art, or even make me question perception, then i can say they succeeded at being an artist. As crazy as that sounds, its the truth. When someone creates something, they put all their emotions and dedication to create just that one thing. Lets say someone is to cook at meal at home. That meal can potentially be the best meal the other person ever had, because of all the love and emotion they put in it. There is a not a greater feeling, then watching someone love what you made, and to me that is art.
Great post! I love the “even a plate of food is a work of art” observation! Really thoughtfully done.
In my opinion I believe art does not need to meet a criteria to be consider art. I feel like art is something that you express your creativity with. Just drawing a dot can consider being art because it can be a deeper meaning to someone who drew it. Even if something is scribbles on a paper it’s still consider art because it’s something you drew. Those scribbles on the paper could express your feelings by looking at the colors you choose, or how hard or light you drew. Art does not have to have monetary value to be art because art can be anything you want it to be. As long as you think it’s art than it’s art.
Great point! I like the specific example of drawing a dot. And, absolutely, what might be art to me is not to you– and the other way around!
Art doesn’t have to meet any criteria to be considered art. Art can be in any form or shape. No one can decides what is art and what isn’t art.There’s no criteria for art to be judged on. If you create something then it is considered art. Art doesn’t have to have a monetary value to be considered art. Art doesn’t have the same value for everyone. Some pieces of art can be worth more to others.
In other words, the criteria may be different for everyone. What might be art to me may not be art to you and vice versa.
I believe that art could be so many different things, such as painting, music, dance, clothing, and etc. Art is something that could be vailable and appricated. People might have a diiferent view into other people view of art, but that still does’nt changes the fact that is art. Let’s use clothing styles for an example, if someone is wearing a ripped jean jacket that has some designes on it, obviusoly that person wearing it liked that art that was put into the jacket. But others might see it as just an old jean jacket that has probably worn for a long period of time that is ripping apart. But that ripped jean jacket could be so expensive due to it’s design and it’s vailable art. This could relate to the play we are reading in class right now, “Art” and the white on white painting that Serge bought and Marc does’nt see it as art and think it useless and a waste of money. But it meant something to Serge and he appicated that piece of art. This also shows that art could literally be anything.
Great response! I like the details you use. Giving the example of the jean jacket helps to illustrate your point clearly! Nice work.
Art is very versatile, there’s no certain criteria. The beautiful thing about art is no one can tell you how to look at a piece and how it’s supposed to make you feel. Art allows you to have an opened mind and use your imagination. For example, let’s say you and a friend are laying down on the grass, looking up at the sky and see clouds. Your Friend says “oh, doesn’t that cloud look like a sandwich?” and you reply nah, I think it looks more like a shoe.
The cloud is the same cloud, it’s just the way you and your friend decided to see it.
Art allows you to see what you want to see and allows you to choose how it makes you feel.
Great analogy (re: the clouds)! Yes!
There are many ways to interpret a visual piece of art, it can be through that first glance, or the story behind a specific piece of art work. This can enhance a relationship, through a variety of feelings such as joy, laughter, happiness, sadness, or concerns, and other mixed feelings along they way. However, not all people think or feel of “art” in this way because there are prestigious people around the world that have an affect, on determining whether or not art should be valued or has a value. Especially, if it’s done by famous, well-known artists, or has captivated background, that will create envy through other people, who would want it as well. This will create competition and increase the value of art work. Those who can afford it, may genuinely have bought it through an emotional attachment or another reason to brag their wealth through expensive and admired art work others desire.
Envy. Competition. Yes! These themes have to do with the play “Art” (and… another play we read…)
Art to me can be any form of creativity that can be shared or expressed through the five human senses. The things that make a visual piece of art special to me is the way how the artist makes use of his/her colors for example Andy Warhol a world renown pop artist takes famous celebrity’s, politicians and other people of importance face and changes them by adding in colors of his own. While Edvard Munch the artist behind the Scream painting made powerful uses of the color orange and red to highlight the man screaming in the front.
Art does not have to meet any certain form of criteria in my opinion it is the same with beauty that can be related to this famous quote “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Meaning every human being has a different standard for beauty some people want bright vibrant colors in their paintings, others prefer black and white paintings, some prefer paintings of people while another group would rather seem a gorgeous background.
Also Art does not need to have a monetary value towards it a person gives value to whatever he/she holds dearly.
Great response! I like that you made note of the five senses– all can be part of appreciating different forms of art. Good details regarding Warhol and Munch. Nicely done!
Art cannot be easily defined. An art work may be fascinating to one while others may find no meaning to it and nothing is wrong with that. I believe, interpretation of an art work is a process of mind. People’s thoughts and ideas enters into the space of freedom where one can imagine and interpret in their own ways. Interpretation of an art stems from one’s beliefs, culture, values, their state of mind, life and situation. As perception of life is unique to each individual so is the Art. I agree with Ida that this is all what makes Art engaging. Art is a freedom of expression and I do not think it should meet any criteria.
Back in the 17th century, art in France was determined by artistic academies which organized art exhibitions called Salons. Only “art” specifically chosen by these academies are considered to be artwork and is displayed at the Salons. In our generation today, we have a higher acceptance level and a broader range of taste. “Art” is no longer determined by a set of rules. It is subjective. Something is an art when you believe it to be.