The big question

(What exactly is Art?)

Chapter 4

     OK let's tackle this one then, what exactly is art? And why is it such a difficult question to answer. Let me start by bringing in the witness of a fairly inexperienced twenty-year-old… me!

     Picasso was still alive and churning them out when, in 1966, I joined an amateur photographic club. It was a week before the group was due to be visited by a well-respected speaker. And, in preparation for his talk, the speaker had requested that the group members arrive with their answer to a certain posed question 'What is Art'?

How would you have answered that question? What is art? Think about it for a few minutes before moving on.

No, seriously, I don't mean pause for half a second then read on, really think about it for a couple of minutes - as if you had been put on the spot and had to give your best answer standing up in front of an audience. Close your eyes if it helps but think about it hard… NOW.  What is art?

     Well, assuming you have taken this seriously you will have thought a little deeper than you would normally about art, and you have settled on your answer (if you haven’t there’s no hope). 

I would like to know what that answer is, but, even more, I would love to know how it differs from the answer that you are going to give after you have read this chapter.

     So, back to 1966 and I'll tell you what my answer was. After a week of obsessing (and at the same time assembling widgets in a factory 7.30 am – 5.30pm) I came up with my best shot, which was:

"Art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. Therefore, anything honestly regarded as art by anyone must therefore be art".

At the time I was quite happy with my answer – which of course implies that art can be anything - that 'art is life', and I am sure many people would agree with this today. But art is subjective; its meaning will vary from person to person, allowing individuals to interpret and derive their own significance from a piece of artwork.

Therefore, as art means different things to different people, art should really be defined relative to the individual's particular references (or the definition that fits for them).

Creativity

For example, to someone who believes art is all about creativity, it could be defined as:

"Art is the expression of human imagination, creativity, skill, and emotions in various forms such as painting, sculpture, music, literature, dance, or any other medium".

Or, as a reflection of culture:

"Art serves as a mirror to society, reflecting cultural values, beliefs, and perspectives of a particular time or community".

Communication:

"art is a form of communication that transcends language barriers, allowing artists to convey ideas, emotions, or messages to an audience.

Provocation of Thoughts and Emotions:

"Art has the power to evoke feelings, provoke thoughts, challenge norms, and inspire change by eliciting various emotional responses from the audience".

Beauty:

"Art is the pursuit of beauty, whether it's in visual aesthetics, harmony in music, or the elegance of a well-crafted story".

Skilful Craftsmanship:

"Art involves mastery of techniques and skills within a chosen medium, requiring dedication, practice, and proficiency".

     These definitions and perspectives highlight the multifaceted nature of art, showing that it can be interpreted and understood in numerous ways, depending on individual experiences and cultural contexts.

You, no doubt, will have your own preference and expression of the above – mine comes somewhere in between Beauty and Skilful Craftsmanship.

And, although it is not a definition as such, when I set myself the challenge of summarising what art means to me, I ended up with:

There's a poem in every image, sound and movement of all that is

It would be wonderful if there was one single definition of art that everyone agreed upon. For if there was, there wouldn't be so many heated arguments about it!

What if we were to think a bit deeper about the "eye of the beholder" definition for a minute? … or should it be the brain behind the eye of the beholder?

Well, we could, but that also introduces a torturous path blocked by so many problems.

We are talking about human brains here and that's our big problem. That's what this is all about, and what makes the subject of art so difficult to analyse.

When dealing with the human brain there are so many complex and competing agendas; conscious and unconscious values, priorities and desires that often the individual simply fails to compute and all judgement is lost (either that or, for convenience, they will pick out one particular dogma or viewpoint and stick rigidly to it, not thinking deeply or clearly).

And by the way, that's not to mention the conflict between the emotional and rational sections of the brain.

It's as if the 'basic model' of the human brain has become too clever for its own good and reached the same frustrating stage as the latest over-complicated motor cars; where you can't even change the battery without having to get a garage to plug it into a very expensive machine to tell the car you have just provided it with a new battery!

Or, that stupid computer insisting it can't find a printer when it's only six inches away!

These are just like some of the problems you get with humans in today's world. And just like my computer we can often drift into dark imaginings – missing the obvious. My dog is far less complicated!

When I was about five or six I thought how sad it was that my 'Plasticene' modelling clay with its exciting array of bright primary colours should eventually turn into a dirty and boring muddy brown. Well, sometimes, an individual faced with a situation involving complex judgement criteria will just trip out and shake their head.

Unfortunately, through usage, the primary colours of their rational objectivity have also turned muddy brown.

If all this is not difficult enough there is yet another complication to add, and that is humans can be influenced (persuaded). And also, humans can influence (persuade) others.

It is this aspect of human behaviour that enables us to build on our collective existing knowledge… in fact I am passing on my thoughts to you now, which you may well disagree with, be influenced by or add to.

However, when you apply these awkward but very real factors to what we call 'art' you can appreciate the complication it causes to our quest. No wonder the workings of art can remain such a mysterious/confusing concept to so many.

To continue talking about influence, we talk about a youth being 'radicalised' – ending up as a suicide bomber or maybe a white supremacist. Well, you don't have to kill anyone to appreciate how easily you can be influenced, just go on a sales training course or even a trip to the cinema to feel how it can alter your attitude in just a couple of hours. I can well recall once leaving a cinema after watching a musical and experiencing a great urge to burst into song and dance whilst walking to catch the bus home – and of course part believing that total strangers would join in with my dance, whilst also proving to be great backing singers.

Conversely, I can also recall watching a war movie at the cinema when I was about ten and crying when one of our troops got killed, but by the time two or three others had followed his fate, I didn't really mind so much and instead had started counting the number of troops we had left compared with the enemy.

In a small way I had become desensitised to the loss of human life within the space of minutes - "we've still got six left" I thought… no more tears and hope returned.

I remember something else occurring; I wondered if this effect also happened to real soldiers in real life?

So, if this can happen in two hours, imagine being immersed in a culture of people - people you respect who have their own firm beliefs and all wanting to influence you. There is an old saying that some things are "caught and not taught". Well, this is certainly true of art, and we have been influenced by the whole world of art since the day we were born. So, exactly what tastes, habits and artistic desires have found their way inside of us through the art of persuasion and propinquity-plus?

To summarise:

The question 'what is art' is an easy question to ask, as easy as 'How big is the universe to the nearest yard'? Answering these questions however is a different thing - not so easy.

FACT - Our awareness and appreciation of art is held and referenced within our head.

FACT – Human brains are different, and therefore each one will have a different understanding of what constitutes art.

FACT – To give one concise answer to the question "what is art" is impossible (sorry about that, you were probably expecting more!).

End of chapter 4