Not even the experts can define art in a way that all could relate to. As far as I know, art is for all to see, to understand. You may disagree. Our quest to define ourselves within the framework of a society makes it so that all that we do we crave to show, to share, to offer as bits of our identity within the whole. Art is just one way of expressing that identity. But the identity claims nothing unless it is communicating itself to another. And so, art communicates. It communicates humanity - what humanity sees, hears, experiences, tastes, feels - in a visceral, tangible array of portrayals. Everyone relates differently which explains the vast spectrum of art that finds an audience to appreciate it. Even a table can be loved!
Now Nature may be the exception to this human-centric view of mine considering there is truly nothing more stunning than a tree. In fact I'm obsessed with drawing trees because I want so desperately to understand them, to fit their complexity into my head like all the other art that we create for our minds only. Nature is rather exclusive in its genius but we can appreciate it because we are a part of it, rather than spectators.
I digress. Good art, you say? Well Fred would say differently than Ethel, therefor there really is no concrete answer to that question.
If you want to see beautiful art that transcends all the boundaries of communication, check out Shaun Tan's "The Arrival", a beautiful graphic novel. It's the only book I've ever known to actually become its story, sending the reader into a foreign place with absolutely no cultural reference points. None. Not even language (sorry to give it away). And what's magical about it? We still understand the whole story. All of you will. Everyone in the world will have the same experience of it. How's that for effective art?!
Art expresses. Art tells a story. Art relates. Art is life.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment