What is art?
Despite seemingly being very simple, these three words, have the ability to spark up so many visions and images of what we personally define as art. When I think of the word art, I start to imagine vivid paintings, colours, elaborate ornaments, my favourite painters, beauty and so many other things that seem to flood in my mind. But it is very hard, if not arduous to find the real definition of art. The real challenge in defining art, is that it is vague. It is everywhere around us and still somehow not looked upon. This is because, as Herbert Read says, art is organically and deeply connected to our perception, our thoughts and our mind, rather than something that we have direct contact with. Art is something we perceive, with not only one, but sometimes with all our senses combined, something that instinctively makes us feel something.
Read says, and I agree, that generally we have a certain idea in mind when asking what is art?. We start to visualise what we imagine to be good art. But this is another question with no definite answer. What makes good art? It is extremely hard for us to answer this question, for art is felt and perceived differently from one person to another. While we may never completely agree on what work of art is better than another, we all unconsciously appreciate certain properties in art. That is why art, even though it may be obscure and abstract, is to an extent, measurable. We "measure" art, by the degree to which it pleases our senses. This is of course, easier said than done, because our senses are very universal and subjective. Despite of this, we all feel pleased when looking at specific qualities in a work of art.
Read believes that these qualities, we find pleasing and "beautiful", because they replicate nature. More specifically, mechanical and mathematical forces that give form to our world. In this sense he says, that nature itself, is a touchstone that can help us determine art. Science has proven that everything in nature, exists and grows in accordance to certain universal laws. And as humans, we too are part of nature, and we too are shaped by these laws. That is why, when we see these forces reflected in works of art, we find those pleasing. This is done unconsciously, it is in the essence of our being. So in a sense, we can give a loose definition of good art. A good work of art is one that resembles natural forms. So, as in many other cases, in nature we may find some clues to all these questions relating to art.
This reading passage was very intriguing. While it may still not define art, it has made me appreciate what art is a lot more and how deeply it is webbed into our lives, our mind and our being.
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