What could be defined as art and what not?

Art is something very difficult to define, almost impossible, I would say. If you look at dictionaries, books, or any other tool like the internet, all the meanings could vary a lot. In this article, you will find different points of view for this concept going from a student's point of view, an artist’s one, and a museologist that will explain for them what is art and what art movements are really it, and what others are not. In this specific case, they are going to talk about painting.

What is art?

For analyzing what art is, first of all from the student’s point of view, we have Carolina Beltran from 10th grade. When she was asked "What is art for you?" she said: “Art is a way in which humans express themselves, it is a fundamental part of their lives and is something that evolves with time, it adapts to society and people. It is not definitive since everybody could have different ideas or artistic tastes and styles. It changes a lot, it is not a square idea. It is more subjective; at the end, it is a way of expression, in which I capture my feelings, and in some way, I create worlds where I would like to live in”. 

Now  Sandra Patarroyo Rodriguez's opinion, who is a professional artist, professor, and book translator. When the question was asked to her, she had a strong position of what she considered art: it was, in some way, a tool for society to think, to criticize different life aspects. It is something visual and what the spectator comprehends of it.

Lastly, we have Ingrid Frederick, a museologist of the Museo de la Universidad del Rosario, art conservator with a magister in world heritage. Her opinion towards the “art” meaning was: “Art is something difficult to define, it is made up of different techniques, with various senses and ideas behind; it is something human, is an artistic expression. Also, it visually documents history. It is conscious. Also, art is something that changes during history, depending on the situations, historical context, functions, and the techniques”. 

What art movements could be considered as art? 

For these explanations made by our interviewed people, the formulated question was: Do you consider abstract art, modern art, contemporary art, and the similar art styles that exist are really art? First of all, as in the paragraph above, we have the student’s point of view. For this question, Carolina stated: “For me, artwork should have a sense, idea, and emotion behind that the spectator should capture. I consider that many people justify their non-ability in the use of techniques, taking these concepts and modifying them for their needs. There are many abstract, modern, and contemporary artworks that, in my opinion, are very good because they show to the spectator the meaning behind them. However, I consider not all this kind of artworks clearly express the idea behind the scene, being this not so great for the viewer itself”. 

For the artist Sandra Patarroyo, her opinion was clear: “No, these ‘art’ movements really are not art at all. Instead, they are a transition between the art of the past and the art of the future. This art notion could be at some point a laugh at what real art is. These ‘artworks’ are supposed to be ‘artworks’ in one context; however, what would happen if the context is different? There is an example of the banana at the ArtBasel 2019. Does it have a meaning to be art? Or a technique? People do not critique what art is or can not be. In some way, it is how the galleries, the artists, and the people who direct this kind of art support make a deal to ‘explain’ the new art trend and the rest of the population believe that without really funding it. A simile for this idea is the tale of the Emperor; in a faraway country, there was an emperor. For one important ceremony, he was looking for the best cloth he could find. That is why he called for all the tailors of the empire, a group of those ‘tailors’ told the emperor they would make the best of all the possible clothing. The peculiarity of this product they were going to make was that the treads were invisible. The emperor, very surprised, was pretty happy about this idea, so the tailors started ‘sewing’ the dress; they weren’t sewing anything, but they were only acting as if they were. Finally, the day came, the emperor put on the ‘dress’. Meanwhile, he was getting ready; the rest of the people were planning what to say when he got to the ceremony. They would say beautiful things to him like ‘what a wonderful dress’, ‘Oh I would love to have that clothing’ ‘Your majesty you look nice’. When the moment came, effectively all the town said beautiful things about the ‘dress’ of the emperor. All things were nice until a child came across the majesty and said ‘why do all of you say he has beautiful clothes if he has no clothes at all?’. At this point, all things revealed to his eyes; they had ripped him”. This is the same thing that happened with  art, today.”

Finally, we have the museologist, Ingrid Frederick's point of view about this art movement. She stated, “Yes, they are art; this is because they document history, what is happening at the moment they have a sense but also a function. Many people may consider this way of expression can not be art because for many reasons, and they are valid; however, we do not know now if this is an art. Nevertheless, we do not know either if it is going to be art in the future. An example of this could be the ‘art’ we consider today, the portraits from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. These paintings did not qualify as art at the time. They were manners of conserving someone since they were considered objects that have a function. The painters were not more than artisans or the people who made the frames. Actually, in some cases, the frames could cost even more than the paint itself. Another example of this was the sacred art that we now consider as art, but in the time it was produced; it only was used for religious education. As you see, art evolves, things that now are art in the past did not have the same connotation, and this same thing could happen in the future”.

As you see, art is a global concept that does not have a definition at all; in my personal opinion, I feel that art, in some way, is a way in which the artist expresses himself. The artwork he creates acts as a chain; first, it is the representation of his world, this “world” is influential with the society he lives in, with the experiences he has had, and with his emotions and feelings at the time. Secondly, it is how he reflects and portrays an idea, feeling, or concept he wants to express. Finally, at the end of the chain, it is how the spectator captures, analyses, and reacts to the meaning of the work itself and what is behind. All these actions are joined with his world, which is influential with his society, experiences, and feelings as well as in the artist.  Related to the art movements, I consider all of them art, even though not all people understand them. If it is an idea, emotion, or any other motor behind the work, for me, it is art.

Now tell us, what do you think is art? And if you think all these movements are art.