Which is more difficult to define- Art or Love?

[Inchworm]

Poll question: Which is more difficult to define- Art or Love?

Define as in...

If someone asks you "what is art?" or "what is love?"

Which of the two questions would you have the most difficulty with?

Share your philosophies, sources, etc. if you'd like.

Poll result (19 votes)
"What is love?" is more difficult to define.	(10 votes, 53%)	Vote
"What is art?" is more difficult to define.	(9 votes, 47%)	Vote

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. bump

[Inchworm]

12. Thanks

As I peeked in.. bam here is this morning's thought

[RetroLounge]

2. Love

You can't define that which does not even exist...

RL

[BarenakedLady]

6. It doesn't?

[Inchworm]

18. -comfort-

don't let that mean ole man make you cwy!

[Inchworm]

13. Theologians take cracks at it

Love is for the poets?

[RetroLounge]

41. Poets may try to define it

But we still haven't actually succeeded...

RL

[wildhorses]

3. it is art unto itself just to define love

just ask any poet...

[Inchworm]

14. Does it take love to define art?

And would I need to ask an Artist this question?

[wildhorses]

20. art can convey any emotion

so, no.

[Fire Walk With Me]

4. They are both verbs.

[Inchworm]

16. Art is a noun

Love is either? hehe

[Fire Walk With Me]

21. I disagree...art is a verb, at least to me. A very passionate verb.

Art and love are states of existence, full consciousness, and perception. They are both cultivated through awareness and interaction and direction. Both are creation and an intertwining of a pair. In the case of art, the experience of the creator and the creation, and for the viewer, the experience of perceiving it and viewing multiple states invoked and involved in it. "From one thing, know ten thousand things." -Musashi, "The Book of Five Rings". Buddhist schools teach mindfulness in that if you have an orange, as you see it in your hand, you feel it in your hand, you perceive the skin, the color, smell; it's state, as well as the conditions leading to its existence such as the rain, the field, the tree, the sun, the harvest, the farmer, the transportation, the store, the person who bought it and brought it to the meal, etc.

A group of DADAists were meeting, and another one arrived bearing large face masks he had made. Each of them immediately took one up, and without any words, all began enacting their mask. It's like "chemistry" in a band, where everyone suddenly knows where everyone else is, and the whole thing becomes effortless and larger than the individuals combined. Of course, I'd say that everyone here already knows all of this. I know I'm not alone here.

Sorry to get heavy, it's who I am. It's in my contract.

[Inchworm]

24. I want heavy

I'm actually tryin to learn how other percieve/define the two. Heavy with refrences = awesome.

Glad I popped in to read it

Thanks.

[Fire Walk With Me]

29. Cheers! I'll drop one of my favorite things upon you, then. It is entirely about opening perceptions

This small clip does little justice to seeing them live as a performance can be over an hour and feature several acts, which create a totality that must be experienced in person. I love things that are pure metaphor, or that are hidden but have palpable weight, as in David Lynch's work.

Stop thinking and feel this:

http://youtube.com/results?search_query=sankai+juku&sea...


It's getting late and I'm losing coherence, if this post doesn't make complete sense. A few days ago, I'd stayed up all night posting, until I realized that I was more asleep than awake, and that my attempts at posting certainly reflected it. It was a fun experiment the one time, not for repetition here

[Inchworm]

31. I watched it...

And realize I have a pretty dirty mind right before I try to go to sleep. I "percieved" some interesting things.

I'll have to check it out in an hour or so when I've rested.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. My dear Inchworm...

For me, love is harder to define....

What is it? Where does it come from? Why do we fall in it, often to our dismay?

All I really know is...I cannot live without it...

[Inchworm]

17. I have sat and pondered those very questions

The other night we did the same with art.

I havent been right since

[BarenakedLady]

7. They are both

rather subjective, no?

[Inchworm]

10. If you can't describe either..

What good are either?

one definition of subjective is...

-relating to or of the nature of an object as it is known in the mind as distinct from a thing in itself.

[BarenakedLady]

15. And yet

I crave both, not being able to define either.

[Inchworm]

19. Like you'd crave water?

[JackDragna]

8. Art. Love is easy to define.

Love : the point at which feelings for another person disqualify you from being considered rational.

[Inchworm]

11. How would you define Art?

[Seashell Eyes]

33. I love your definition of love

[Inchworm]

9. Shit - no time to reply :P

Who dug this up! lolz

[necso]

22. Art.

Love is as love does.

And I can take a passable stab at that.

But beyond some vague generalities (creation/fusion for the sake of doing it), I can't do the same for art.

[Inchworm]

25. Sounds good

To the point. short.

[amitten]

23. They're the same thing. n/t

[Inchworm]

26. Like an apple and an orange are both fruit?

[Alexander]

27. Love is way more difficult to define.

Art is really any creative medium that has an aesthetic impact on its viewers (ie, "This music's good" or "That painting sucks"). It's a two-part form - the original artist creates the art, and the viewer defines the art by reacting to it.

Love is a very specific emotion, and it's practically impossible to properly put into words - I have never seen any words do justice to the concept of love. It is really one of those things that qualifies as "I know it when I see it", or in this case, feel it.

[Inchworm]

28. Well, I thought this too

But it's too cold of a definition for art. When a factory worker assembles a lightbulb is he creating art? Art is interpreted; is love?

I'm beginning to think some dang Greek covered this already somewhere a few thousand years ago. Too many ways to look at either.

Thanks for the well put response.

[Alexander]

30. I think art is a two-part word.

"When a factory worker assembles a lightbulb is he creating art?"

If a) it is a creative medium

and b) it has an aesthetic impact on the viewer,

then yes.

So if the worker creates something by putting a bulb together, and he thinks "Hey, that came out nicely" - it's art.

But art has to have those two parts. If it has no impact on anyone, from my standpoint, it's not art. Like if a tree falls, and no one is there to hear it.

"Art is interpreted; is love?"

No. I think animals can clearly feel love for one another, whereas art is a human invention.

[Inchworm]

32. You have definitely opened my mind

Thank you for being so descriptive. I will let this bounce around in the hollowness a bit.

[Seashell Eyes]

34. As an artist, I have to go with art

Everyone knows what love is, but people have different opinions about what is art. Some people think that Chris Ofili's painting, "The Holy Virgin Mary," which was made of elephant dung, is art. Others thought that it was crap, literally. Some people think of art as too sophisticated for them, but I have a much broader definition of art and consider illustration, architecture, some fashion, sculpture and film to be art. Thomas Kinkade paintings, black velvet paintings, and precious moments figurines, however,are not art in my opinion. Love is easier to define, but still ambiguous. One of my favorite quotes about love is from the movie Playing By Heart. "Talking about love is like dancing about architecture."

[Inchworm]

38. "Talking about love is like dancing about architecture"

I like that

Well, as the poll may suggest, love isn't so easy for some to define. I am quite amazed that it is tied right now.

Interesting point you make about what is art. In fact, Thomas Kinkade came up in the conversation that instigated my questioning. We have to say that is art don't we? Or do we?

A dancer is an artist. Don't all dancers basically do the same moves? What separates them?

Writing is art. Is Stephen King an artist?

This guy has probably painted this exact painting 100x. Is it still art?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2s1aBH-pbw

Oh, and good morning. WooHoo!

[Seashell Eyes]

42. Good morning!

I forgot about writing and dancing. Those are also art. The dancer uses their body as a medium and the writer uses words. The youtube link is performance art. Cool video. Thomas Kinkade is to art as Kenny G is to jazz music. Watered down. There's nothing wrong with liking paintings of cottages and landscapes. I think that people who like that should buy art from a local art show or check out the impressionists or the romantic landscape artists from the 1800s such as Thomas Cole.

[My Good Babushka]

35. If you pare it down to the bone

Love is a feeling caused by a chemical reaction in my brain, when someone suitable for helping me propogate my genes appears. Art is a skill through which I make my display call for a mate with which I can propogate my genes.

[Seashell Eyes]

36. great reply

[Inchworm]

39. I "love" it!

Another country heard from!

Two questions asked and two questions answered.

Excellent, first time someone has brought this up. Can it be this simple?

[Heidi]

37. They're both kinda like porn:

I can't define it, but I know it when I see it.

[Inchworm]

40. Definately

Love is to pizza delivery guy
as
Art is to a schweaty couch

Theres a theory