Art

I

Introduction

Art, the product of creative human activity in which materials are shaped or selected to convey an idea, emotion, or visually interesting form. The word art can refer to the visual arts, including painting, sculpture, architecture, photography, decorative arts, crafts, and other visual works that combine materials or forms. We also use the word art in a more general sense to encompass other forms of creative activity, such as dance, drama, and music, or even to describe skill in almost any activity, such as “the art of bread making” or “the art of travel.” In this article art refers to the visual arts.

The next sections of the article offer answers to the following questions: How have the visual arts been defined, and what purposes have they served? How have the different kinds of visual art been categorized and valued at different times? What are the elements of art? How do art historians study changes in art through time? The article concludes with some suggestions for appreciating works of art.

II

Defining Art

All definitions of art, including the one in the first sentence of this article, are open to question and debate. There are several reasons for this.

A

Difficulties

A definition of art that seems correct to many Americans in the 21st century is likely to differ greatly from definitions of art in non-Western cultures, in tribal societies, and in other historical periods. Our rather open-ended definition may even sound strange to those in contemporary Western society who expect art to be limited to familiar categories such as painting and sculpture.

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Defining art raises problems also in that since the beginning of the 20th century some artists have sought to challenge the very definition of art. Their art objects may lack the qualities long associated with art, such as beauty, skilled craftsmanship, and clear organization. These art objects may even be indistinguishable from consumer products. Conceptual artist Jeff Koons, for example, assembles sculpture from commercially manufactured products such as vacuum cleaners and lawn ornaments.

In addition, during the last quarter of the 20th century, critics and art historians considered many more types of objects as art. Today, these authorities often speak of “visual culture”—which may include motion pictures, television, advertising, and comic books—instead of giving special attention to sculpture, painting, or architecture.

Perhaps the major difficulty in defining art lies in the fact that art implies value—monetary, social, and intellectual. Large amounts of money may be involved when an object is regarded as art. A sculpture of beer cans by American artist Jasper Johns is worth millions of dollars, while beer cans themselves are worth almost nothing. Many critics would say that the sculpture qualifies as art because the artist intended it to be seen as art. But what if the maker had no such thought in mind? Consider, for example, blankets woven by Navajo women whose identities are unknown.

Items like Navajo blankets by anonymous weavers were long classified as crafts or as cultural artifacts (objects made by humans) rather than as art because of their seemingly nonartistic materials as well as their usefulness, the anonymity and female gender of their makers, and their origins in tribal culture. That we are beginning to consider such objects as art is a reflection of our changing social values.

Regarding useful objects made in tribal cultures as crafts or artifacts would not seem inappropriate if we did not think of these categories as essentially different from painting, sculpture, and other categories considered “high art.” Critics and art historians today often try to avoid this division between high and low art, substituting for “high art” terms such as “art with a capital A,” “art-as-such,” and “serious art.” But these terms still make a distinction. We could speak instead of “art that is displayed in museums,” “art that is taught in art history classes,” or “art that art critics can interpret.” These expressions would encompass tribal objects and give them an intellectual value, no matter who made them or what their intent may have been.

B

Is a Definition Necessary?

Despite the difficulty in forming a definition for art, we go to an art museum expecting to see paintings and sculpture, not comic books, loaves of bread, or works by amateurs. And usually we are not disappointed, even if sometimes an exhibit features comic books and, as a result, opens our eyes to what is “artful” about them. That we expect to see paintings in frames and carvings on pedestals stems more from historical conventions than from any specific material or visual quality belonging to art. Many objects we call “art” represent significant ideas, but some do not. Someone considered a “serious artist” might even be more interested in marketing his or her products than a designer of industrial products is.

Although a firm definition of art may seem like a good idea, and philosophers in the field of aesthetics have attempted to come up with one, it is possible to create and enjoy art without such a definition. Artists are generally more concerned with how best to use materials to convey their ideas than with deciding what is or is not art, whereas museum curators and art historians are busier looking for examples of particular types of objects, such as Greek vases or Rembrandt drawings. It is most important to remember that art is a category with changing boundaries, not only in its general definition but also in its subdivisions. People not only make art, but also choose which objects should be called art.

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