Art - Amy Charles

Art

Art is often seen in museums behind red velvet ropes, in people’s homes nailed to the walls, and in popular animated movies. It is a concept that is noticed every day whether it is in the borders of a frame or on the brick wall of a city building. Humans often spend hours per day creating artworks and selling them for thousands of dollars. But what makes something art? Art is a person’s creation that catches the eye and causes the viewer to react in a positive way since art is created by highly skilled people, is inspired by nature, and appears very accurate and detailed.

Art is defined as a creation that catches the eye since it comes in billions of variations. As humans, we are naturally curious and fascinated by new and unusual things. Every piece of artwork is a new creation never before seen and has so many different forms, that some art is considered unusual to us, which draws in the eye. Unusual aspects of the art piece makes people wonder what this artist is trying to show and why it’s done this way. Often, a person will notice a drawing or painting that instantly causes them to stop and glance. Their reasons for doing so may vary. Some people find a connection to a piece of art through a memory, they might notice a high amount of skill expressed in it, or they are experiencing a positive emotion that it brings.

Art is also defined as a creation that offers a positive reaction for the viewer. When people glance at a work of art and feel some sort of positive feeling from it, they are eager to call it art. Positive feelings the viewer can feel include amazement, strength, passion, inspiration, and many more. When people see artwork that stirs a negative emotion, they are much more reluctant to call it art at all. They might say it is a failure. These negative emotions include disgust, anger, and repulsion. Art is a term that needs defining specifically because so many people invent their own definitions. Art is defined this way since it follows along the opinions of most people and is an acceptable definition for all cultures of people.

Art is the way it is because it is created by highly skilled people. The paintings and sculptures seen in popular museums around the world were made by artists with talent and skill. In art history, people are very familiar with famous artists that created beautiful works of art, because they simply had great skills. Michelangelo Buonarroti, a skilled sculptor and painter, was famous for his paintings on the Sistine Chapel. “Although he considered himself primarily a sculptor, Michelangelo’s painting on The Sistine Chapel ceiling is one of the Western world’s most acclaimed works of art” (Frank, 255). Having developed these skills over the course of his lifetime, Michelangelo’s creations are considered art to everyone, and he is continuously being introduced in schools across America. Another well-known artist, Leonardo da Vinci, had great skill and talent he expressed when creating Mona Lisa. “Leonardo da Vinci was motivated by strong curiosity and belief in the human ability to understand the fascinating phenomena of the physical world...His notebooks are filled with studies of anatomy and ideas for mechanical devices…” (Frank, 253). People without much skill in art typically do not have artwork hanging in a museum or being sold in a gallery. When a child is born with an artistic talent or high skill at such a young age, it is usually noticed right away in one of their drawings and they are automatically labeled as being an artist.

Some may argue that art does not need to be created from a highly skilled person. They might claim that stick figures and crayon scribbles are considered art anyways. People can raise a good argument about it, but still seems irrelevant because stick figures and crayon scribbles are rarely seen in galleries and art museums. They also do not do anything for the viewer and offers no interest to them. As stated earlier, people are more likely to label something as art if it gives them a great emotion and amazes them. If people see nothing special about a drawing or painting, they will dismiss it right away, which is not really art at all.

Art is also inspired by nature. All art is created from the knowledge and experiences made from nature. This includes humans, animals, and landscapes. Many find that looking out at a beautiful scene outdoors inspires a new painting. “In the fall, nature offers painters the excuse to be outrageous. The late afternoon sun lights up the glimmering golden leaves, the red pepper trees cast long purple shadows on the dusty ground. I carry my paints and easel in the car in case I can’t drive past a flaming vineyard without stopping and trying to capture it” (Robin, 50). Thousands of artists find their inspiration within nature. Famous sculptors sometimes sculpt a realistic human made of stone, because they were inspired simply by human beings. Some enjoy painting animals because they find them to be beautiful creatures in Mother Nature and is a source of strong inspiration.

Some people may argue that nature is not necessary to inspire a work of art, but can get inspiration from somewhere else. They might claim that drawing a still life of a ceramic bowl is not nature-inspired, or they do not need any inspiration to make art at all. Plenty of people might pick up a graphite pencil and draw a picture out of the blue. The reason being for art coming from nature is because all of the things people have learned and experienced are basically from nature anyways. The ideas and imaginative pictures that artists come up with in their head were originally from something in nature, whether it be a beautiful rock, a bowl of fruit, a table, or a lakeside house. So whether they are looking at scenery, or just creating some image in their head, all ideas end up coming from nature itself and are inspired by it whether it is apparent or not.

Art is something that appears very accurate and detailed. As mentioned earlier, famous artists such as Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo created beautiful works of art, which all came out to be very realistic looking. With a clear and detailed image, people can easily tell what the artist is trying to convey and the artwork becomes much more appreciated. Not only that, it stands a higher chance of getting a positive reaction from the viewers. In Leonardo’s painting of The Last Supper, the accuracy of the painting tells its story. Without accuracy, not much can be told of what is going on. “The naturalist style of the work contains a hidden geometry, which structures the design and strengthens the painting’s symbolic content…Leonardo placed Christ in the center, at the point of greatest implied depth, associating him with infinity…Christ is shown with his arms outstretched in a gesture of acceptance, his image a stable triangle” (Frank, 254). The idea of art is to deliver a message about the piece. Since The Last Supper is detailed and accurate, the story behind it is clear. According to an online encyclopedia, art is “an aesthetic that promotes accurate, detailed, unembellished depiction of nature or of contemporary life” ("Art" 1).

An accurate and detailed definition of art can be argued, however. Some people may say that art can be simple and inaccurate. They can claim it may be a simple line drawn across a paper or an irregular shape painted on a canvas. There is nothing truly special about simplistic drawings or paintings since they show little effort and anyone can draw a line across the paper or create a random shape. With that fact known, simple ideas like that have very low value and are not considered actual art. Paintings, sculptures, photographs, and drawings that took hours of effort and a careful hand have a higher value and deserve to be noticed in a positive way by viewers.

Art is something people see day to day and is often created as a personal hobby. It is unique and can only be judged as art by the person viewing it. Art magnifies people closer to it, is inspired by nature, and is realistic. This is so, because people are much more likely to label something as art if it gives off a positive energy. When masterpieces catch the viewer’s eye, they want to give it credit and value. If people ignore a painting, why put it in a museum and label it art if it draws no attention? Without drawing in the viewer and without offering a good vibe, a drawing, painting, or sculpture has failed to fit with the definition of art.

Works Cited

1. "Art." Encyclopædia Britannica. Chicago, IL: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2011. Web. .

2. Frank, Patric. Prebles' Artforms. 10th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education Inc., 2011. 253-255.

3. Robin, Jennifer. Growing more Beautiful. Petaluma, CA: Arteful Press, 2008.

Image Credits

1. http://www.jaydax.co.uk/lastsupper/lastsupper.jpg

2. http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1006/1030021413_3d5f50c3e6.jpg

3. http://behance.vo.llnwd.net/profiles25/307838/projects/954142/56c6a24013b79ba90280deab1110d7f4.jpg