what is art

what is art

Exploring the Concept of Art: A Multidisciplinary Perspective

1. Introduction to the Concept of Art

Art, it seems, has always been addressed from two sides, the formal and the sociological. On the one hand, there are the subjective feelings of the artist and her audience, even perhaps common to humanity. On the other hand, there is the institutional framework within which artists operate. It is the focus on the social and cultural dimension of ‘art’ which distinguishes the sociology of art from its neighbor, aesthetics. The second tradition addresses art as aesthetic experience. The first tradition starts with the notion that there is something called ‘art’ and that this raises certain epistemological problems. The sociological tradition is far more interested in the nature of judgments about ‘art’ (how or why things are judged to be part of this category) rather than in the category itself. For the historian, it is not clear at what point in time or in what culture the concept of ‘art’ is to be found. Was the concept a European invention originating in ancient Athens and Jerusalem, together with the free citizen and monotheism, asks one scholar. Others have stressed that rather than being a ‘discovery’ art is rather of the oldest métiers in social life, a feature of all human groups mating, fighting, and arguing. Still others, seeing ‘universals’ in both developmentally early human art forms and the common elements present in the extensive archaeological study of stone age societies, do not agree with the idea of the discontinuity of the western concept. After all, the ancient Chinese, Japanese, and Korean recognized that what we would today call fine brush paintings, and the ancient Indian painters too attempted to transmit exactly what they saw, to remind future generations of their models.

Art is caught up in various different disciplines: psychology, sociology, and historical anthropology among them. This is perhaps in part because art is such a fundamental part of how human beings communicate, ordering our world through a wide range of media. It is the pluralism of art which makes it so difficult to pin down. Different things are said about the same work of art, depending on the background, the interests, the social position, the age of those responding to it. Resistance to definitive definitions has come also from the suspicion that any such definitiveness serves the interests of the powerful, who want to hold onto an existing order where the ‘high’ arts are distinct from the humbler forms of popular art and kitsch. Fortunately, the rejection of definitive definitions does not mean that it is impossible to become more sophisticated in our understanding of art. In this essay, we will explore the concept of art using the following approach: first, we shall see what art looks like; then we shall look at some of the most prominent attempts to pin down what it is exactly that makes a work a work of art.

2. Historical Evolution of Artistic Expression

It is up to the researchers to decipher the abstruse evidence more than 30,000 years old. The conclusions are surprisingly simple. We can smell the meat of a picnic of millennia. The presence of the artist becomes almost tangible. The subjectivity of the artistic manifestations of certain species is seen as largely dishonest. Any reason assumed would, always at best, be classified in colony, in the society of ants. A human child, cute, pure, naïve, and sacred, is naturally creative, and a fundamental artistic fact: Both smile when the beloved parent smiles at the radiance of a simple art form.

The figure above represents handprints that were used by artisans as stencils by putting red pigment on their hands, leaving the marks on the surface of rocks. They are considered artistic expressions and their artistic aspect can be justified even by the fact that different colors were used for four different handprints. Their manifestation is distinguished by auroral societies to contribute to the condensation of social cohesion. Such traces are linked to certain Hindu rituals and, in some African and North American communities, such practices are maintained or maintained, changing only the elements that make up the work; handprints for others; markings and engravings are determinants. The construction of a work is guided by ritual and myth, selecting unique characteristics of being the most apt construct of the artistic project.

Evidence of artistic talent can be traced back 100,000 years, from the moment that humans started communicating through language. Any cave painting is further evidence of an inner communicative necessity. Prehistoric art conceives the primitive constructions of artistic products as a way to address an audience in real-time, showing the objects themselves as improper elements. It is a way of understanding human artistic manifestation understood from the cognitive and biological processes and, in this sense, the result of a particular artistic process that validates the human specimen making decisions, facing multiple options until having the result within the preference that suits the work in question. Artistic tendencies are both diverse and unique. It is biologically programmed since humans are the only animals that incorporate this cultural and social feature.

3. Defining Art: Philosophical and Aesthetic Perspectives

The terms ‘art’ and ‘aesthetic’ have diverse definitions admitted in diverse cultures, in diverse historical moments. It’s true that art alludes to specific activities in diverse moments and countries, and artists are different in diverse locations and historical periods. Art and aesthetics are subjects that instigate deep existential investigations in man. It’s a question that permeates man’s life as a whole. Additionally, ‘art’ is probably one of the most profound and frustrating notions to be treated in the field of philosophy. Consequently, it becomes a challenge to this day to define the notion of art, meaning, or even to ask about its existence.

Despite its long-standing and well-documented relevance and its emotional resonant power, the idea of art has been a subject of continuous interrogation concerning what is art and what makes art. This chapter discusses a few cultural, aesthetic, and non-Western issues concerning definitions of art formulation and concerns being raised in the interdisciplinary area of ‘art and society’, relevant for art education practice. This chapter is organized as follows. Initially, the Greek philosophy of Plato and Aristotle, who separated art objects by material, is presented. After that, theories of art throughout history are addressed. Subsequently, some issues concerning aesthetics and the philosophy of art are analyzed. Lastly, an assortment of perspectives concerning art and society is discussed.

4. The Role of Art in Society and Culture

From the moment the first cave paintings appeared, the history of art underwent a decades-long course that led to the development of current art. Originating in religious portrayals or objects of worship, art became more complex, as shown by the Greek sculptural works, achieving a stage of extravagant representation of wealth and power, such as the works at the Versailles Palace in France. After these years, it went through a phase of formalization, association, and finally, today, with numerous styles and artistic expressions. Currently, art can be found in a multitude of environments and ways, influencing human life. Numerous research disciplines have raised questions and contributed to understanding why art has such a strong influence on human life and why it can be important. In this perspective, psychology, education, and other related sciences have contributed enormously by identifying a multitude of art manifestations and their relationship to human behavior.

The complexity of art, the realization of its numerous roles in society, and its ability to make important contributions to people’s lives are elements emphasized by diverse research that looks at this concept from a variety of disciplines. From the origins of art, it has always played an essential role, being a mirror of society and later integrating the components of culture. Throughout history, different societies and cultures have adopted art in their lives, although they have done so in different ways. For this reason, the way in which they create art is one of the identifying characteristics of each society and culture.

5. Contemporary Trends and Debates in the Art World

Think of the growing interest in intellectual problems within the art world. How should we understand works of art: as physical objects (originals), as props for make-believe worlds (props), as symbols or vehicles (token of meaning), or as occasions for aesthetic experience (event)? Should we recognize someone’s responses to the appearance of works of art rather than their physical nature or their role as literature, music, or dance, or event? Who defines “art” and decides its value, and how and why is that decision made? These theories about art are connected to questions of identity: how do communities define the artist and the audience or the place and performance of art and artists today?

Stream of consciousness and found art, but this is not the whole postmodern story. The final quarter of the 20th century produced a flourishing of art characterized by a withdrawn self-consciousness and a critique of the notion of art as autonomous or heroic. This art is often more discursive than visual, producing talk about art, not art objects. Art and society have become minefields of issues about freedom, sexuality, and expression, and the artwork is likely to be the place where theories about those issues are played out for examination, celebration, and dispute. Art has become art history the instant it is produced, and the artist is now the creator insisting that we consider his or her work as art.