Your thoughts about art

simu

Why do people make art?
What happens when people experience art?
What happens in the artist's mind when he/she is creating art?
Does the concept of what art is and do the forces that cause artists to create, change over time?
Is art embedded within the society that produces it?
Are there any art works that can speak to all humans, regardless of background and training?
Is the distinction between good and bad art meaningless?
What, if any, is the "moral" value of art?

I'd also like to hear any other thought people have about art. I know the questions are pretty wide but it's the best way to start a discussion imo.

(Will give some of my own thoughts later).

DadaKopf

Whoa! One question at a time, pintsize!

davej

Is art embedded within the society that produces it?

This reminds me of a thread from a good while back.

Is Art just a mirror?

davej

simu

davej wrote:

This reminds me of a thread from a good while back.

Is Art just a mirror?

davej

Ah, cool! Many of my questions are answered there although I'm still curious about people's individual experiences of making and seeing art. (And I haven't given a definition of art because that might fetter their answers).

(Also, I see that Art/Anim/Photo has been changed to Photography - where are people supposed to discuss art in general now???)

Earthhorse

Too many questions indeed. I'll give some of them a shot.

Why do people make art?

I often see art, the creation of it, as an attempt to bring beauty into an unbeautiful world. That probably sounds trite but much art is created in times of despair. This doesn't hold true for all artists though, some are inspired by and in fully love with life.

What happens when people experience art?
What happens in the artist's mind when he/she is creating art?

These questions are too broad for a general answer to be useful, the first especially so, and that general answer happens to be "different things".

Sometimes the artist struggles with the work, practically wrestling the piece onto the page. At other times a piece will come to them wholly intact, in a perfectly wonderful, meditative state. Still others will create at emotionally tender times. In each instance the artist's mind is in an entirely distinct state, impossible to replicate.

At the best of times some artists have described themselves as conduits for their work rather than creators of it.

Are there any art works that can speak to all humans, regardless of background and training?

Possibly certain pieces of music or dance. Whether they say anything meaningful though is another question.

Is the distinction between good and bad art meaningless?

To me? No. Not only that, I would go so far as to say that the distinction between that which is art and that which is not art is not meaningless either.

What, if any, is the "moral" value of art?

Not sure I understand this question. I suppose in the sense that it can rescue someone's soul, art can be described as having saved someone's life. I'm not sure if this isn't just dramatic descriptions of trying times, but if it isn't, and the life is worth saving, then art does have a moral value.

A lot of artists today seem to think they create in a moral vacuum, leaving much of their work either entirely amoral or, at a stretch, immoral. Moral context is important, and a strong moral message in a work of art is deeply appealing to me.

muesli_offire

A lot of artists today seem to think they create in a moral vacuum, leaving much of their work either entirely amoral or, at a stretch, immoral. Moral context is important, and a strong moral message in a work of art is deeply appealing to me.

I was always under the impression that artists today (visual, audiovisual, literary, performing, etc) are among the most morally/politically/socially correc... I mean conscious... individuals around.

But hey,
What is a moral 'context'?
and why no mention of (what are for me) the most exciting questions:

Does the concept of what art is and do the forces that cause artists to create, change over time?
Is art embedded within the society that produces it?

Interesting

seaghdhas

Is raising a child properly not a form of art in a way? Making a functioning adult is a big task. Although is isn't necesarrily a single person or couple that does this alone without outside influences. But then how is what is conventionally thought of as art influenced.

At the same time, I'm not well read enough to talk about how this fits into 'art and society'.

Although if it is an art, then can art be consciously thought of as art during the process of doing it? Can a person do a thing that can be described of as art without intending it to be 'artistic'?

DadaKopf

Art, to me, must be intentional and must be communicating something. I tend to think of it as a language without boundaries, spelling, syntax, grammar. Literature, of course, is art, because they're books that try to communicate more than the sum of their parts. TO me, it's impossible to ever escape the communicative aspect of art, because even if an artist is trying to produce something which is intentionally non-communicative, he/she is still communicating something more than the sum of the piece's parts.

I think discussion about art usually centres around discussing the boundaries between art, high- or low-art, non-art etc.

I think the boundaries of art always depend on historical contexts. This phrase doesn't capture the complexity remotely, but I mean something like the 'political-economy' of art. The boundaries of art, and art pieces themselves by association, are perpetually open to radical reinterpretation because they're so time-dependent.

adonis

DadaKopf wrote:

Literature, of course, is art, because they're books that try to communicate more than the sum of their parts.

this would be a good definition for all art, not just literature.

CathyMoran

In terms of the creation of art the forces that drive me are varied, from being in a creative vacum, being in love or other strong emotions or experiencing intense visual stimulus - it does vary over time but it is always from one of those listed. It turns into this big drive/need to create. My father is a classically trained artist but he started a particular style of modern art just after I was born. When you have found a style it is easier to replicate it without your heart being in it - I suppose that is day to day art. I have discussed the topic of inspiration with a friend who is a writer and the artistic drive is the same.