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What Makes Art Art

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Submitted By britani
Words 521
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Britani Graves
Art Essay 1
6-20-11

What makes Art Art?

I believe art can not be defined. According to the Fall 2007 Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Definition of Art, by Thomas Adajan, "the definition of art is controversial... whether art can be defined has also been a matter of controversy." I think artists can take anything and put their twist on it and what they think it is and they can call it Art. Art is all around us in many forms and fashions. Art has evolved in so many different ways and can make people feel so many different feelings. Everywhere we look today we can see some form of Art and if you really take time to enjoy it and get in touch with your feelings everyone could learn to appreciate things a lot more. Art can be a very therapeutic way to deal with emotions people may not be able to express any other way. In the sculpture The Kiss by Auguste Rodin it is a true example of expressing a feeling of love. In the sculpture they look so passionate and in love it just makes you feel good. I think any work that touches us on an emotional level – brings us joy or anger, tears or laughter – is art. But there is a cultural aspect to it as well, particularly in how we interpret art. Georgia O’Keeffe says, “I found that I could say things with colors and shapes that I couldn’t say in any other way-things I had no words for.” I really think our book Prebles’ Artforms by Patrick Frank says it good when he says, “Not all of us regularly create works of art, but we are all creative in some way. We create a home life. We create relationships. We create events, goals, projects, and accomplishments. Even the common acts of arranging furniture in a room or pictures on the wall can be creative.” In this sense I don’t believe the content is the most important. I believe if you’re the artist and you can make other people feel a certain way whether it’s what you felt when you made it or it’s something completely different, I feel you have created art. My favorite kind of medium is the sculpture. I really enjoy the freestanding sculpture which is meant to be seen from all sides. One of the sculptures that I have enjoyed the most is the Flora by Richard H. Ellis. I think the sculpture is so beautiful and I feel at peace when I look at it. As I have proved art really can not be defined. I truly believe anything can be art and anyone can be an artist. Just participating in every day life going from picking out your clothes in the morning to decorating your house to actually trying to sculpt, paint, or draw a work of art, we all art artists in some way. Art communicates to us and if we all just took time to listen we could see all the beauty that surrounds us.

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