Hello, and welcome to the first edition of “Artsy Friday”. Every week I will make an art-related post where I answer some philosophical art questions, talk about art I love, or show some of mine. Everything related to art is allowed on Friday.
What is Art?
If we google the definition of Art we get this:
“The various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance”.
In simple words this should be correct, but the deeper we dive into it, the more complicated it gets. Yes, everything creative can be defined as a piece of art except not every piece of art is valuable which to me is more important than anything else.
Meaning
In my opinion, art should have a purpose, it should carry a message. The expression of creativity isn’t enough to form something artistic. If I combine random things together, in theory, it can be called art, but in reality, it is just random ideas mashed together to form something meaningless. If I combine all of the previous ideas within some logical path– it has value, it offers something to the audience, which is important. If art does not carry an idea with it - it is just a piece of randomness. Let’s see improvisation for example. It is a great skill to have to be able to play something on the go but that is not art, it is a skill. Playing the guitar and making art with it are two different things – one is a technical skill, the other is an expression of an idea. While everyone can learn to play the guitar, not everyone can create art with it.
The no idea phase
Although an art piece without an idea is just improvisation, it is important sometimes to improvise so as to find pieces that could carry your message or to find your idea altogether. I also call this phase “a demo phase” where you have these cool pieces which you want to combine together but you still don’t have a clear sense of the context, the composition, and everything else. Which is fine. It is alright to be searching for inspiration, to be just jamming but the real art is in the context, in the logic. Expression of emotions is also important to be present in the project, but if you rely just on that you will not have a full piece, and every time you will feel like something is missing in your project.
Art can be complicated
Even though in recent years we see a decline in complexity towards every aspect of art itself, it does not mean that art cannot communicate something more than just a plain and simple idea. The concept of having an idea in an art project can be expressed in many ways. You can take the easy route and just strive for simplicity where the idea is straightforward, for example, in most love songs, which is not bad by itself, you can make a simple idea appear interesting and complex but most of the time it gets repetitive and boring after a while. Then you can up your game with metaphors, for example, where you could use love lyrics, but they are about something else entirely. You can go to the double idea road where you mean two things at the same time and based on the personal view of the listener it is interpreted differently. You can go even further by making a project which has a meaning based on the context created by the viewer, where the audience pieces together their own interpretation of the idea. The spectators may apply their own solution to the problem of the art project and come up with a personal conclusion to the story based on some vague clues. Logic is not going to limit your expression, because you can create complex logical pieces of art which still carry a message and feel like a fully developed art project.
In conclusion
For me, art is an expression of an idea. You want to bring value to the table, to spread a message. You need to feel personal about it, to show that you care and reveal your deepest emotion towards that particular idea. Overall tho, what is really important is the purpose. To bring logic, find yourself with your art, ask questions and come up with answers, have a flow of the composition, and love what you do.
I want to know what you guys think art is? What is your definition of art and how do you view every thought which I shared with you today? Leave a comment below, let’s start a discussion. I will see you tomorrow!