How do you define what actually is art?

[Archae]

I look at it this way.

Art is a creative expression, of talent.

Too many people don't do art.
They do a stunt.

About 30 years ago, I saw a guy who "painted," by standing behind a jet engine, and threw paint into the backwash.
That's a stunt.

A decade or so earlier, a guy did "art" by spreading globs of paint on a canvas, and then driving all over it.
That's a stunt.

More recently, that guy (Christo?) who wraps big stuff up in plastic, and had that ugly hanging cloth exibit in Central Park in NYC, he doesn't do art.
He does stunts.

Most recently, this idiot does "art" by getting lots of people to pose naked in different places, and he photographs it.
That's a stunt.

Van Gogh did art.

[treestar]

1. It's what rich people are willing to pay for

It's what the "in crowd" says is art.

[tkmorris]

2. If a human created it

And I find it interesting to perceive (look at, listen to, etc), it's art. You know, I find it interesting that "art" has only been created thus far for 3 of the 5 senses. I predict this will change in the relatively near future.

[billyskank]

3. That's a very difficult question

For me, I like to see craft. I recognise that art and craft are not the same thing. A person may pile some bricks up in the Tate, and people call it art. I do not think I am qualified to judge; but I can say that it isn't my cup of tea. I like to see something that was difficult to do. I appreciate the craft that has gone into the execution. The reason I started drawing people was specifically because it was a challenge, and every time I do a new one, I strive to see how well I can do it.

[ghostsofgiants]

7. I don't think difficulty of craft is particularly necessary though if the aesthetic is good.

Some of the nicest art I've seen has been very simple.

[Monk06]

4. It's art if the artist says it is - Marcel Duchamp

[Archae]

5. I disagree.

Good example:

"Piss Christ."

Some asshole pees into a plastic box, then dunks a plastic crucifix into the pee.

It's a stupid stunt, nowhere NEAR art.

[gmoney]

6. It's actually a pretty good photo...

And if it weren't for the "backstory" of how it was made and the title, people I don't think be upset about it at all.

I think it would have been more interesting for Cerrano to put the photo out as "untitled" for a while and see what the reaction was, THEN after a few years, announce how it was made and the actual title for it. Now, probably a LOT fewer people would have noticed the picture, but would have been a different sort of validation of the "is it art?" question.

[Archae]

12. From what I saw of the photo...

It's a shitty picture.

Any idiot can do a stupid picture like "Piss Christ."

[baldguy]

15. Is this art?

Chris Ofili's painting "The Holy Virgin Mary"



Please note that the dark spots on the canvas are made of elephant dung.

[zanne]

8. I used to pretend to understand art....

The fact is, I'm clueless. I like Van Gogh, though I don't know why. I was an English major, yet I feel the same way about poetry. Some poems give me goose bumps, but I don't know why. I guess it doesn't really matter.

[cobalt1999]

9. same here.

I tried to post about 3 replies to this thread and couldn't get a coherant sentence out.

I can't explain what it is, but I know it when I see it.

[Neshanic]

10. For an interesting take, read Tom Wolf's "The Painted Word."

[Fire Walk With Me]

11. It, in itself, is more important than anyone's opinion of it?

[Rabrrrrrr]

13. You ask me. I will tell you if it's art or craft or just lameness.

Cristo is art, by the way.

The other guys I don't know, since I don't know their intentions for using the jet engine or driving on the canvas - they might have had good artistic reasons for doing so.

Intentionality is a major component of what is art and what is not.

[baldguy]

14. Art is anything primarily intended to create an emotional reaction in the viewer.