And so....

So I made this new blog for “things”, with a view to putting down some thoughts and ideas. To what purpose, I am not sure, but I guess to share ideas or thoughts, or put forward “half thoughts” so that I may get another’s point of view and perhaps learn something in the process.

So now where do I start? Well the other day I was having a discussion about art and art appreciation and on what exactly is or defines art, if there be a definition.

One persons view, an art student, was that art is something that:
a) Has been created with soul or passion
b) Has had a lot of effort and thought put into it
c) Is true or close to the persons vision from the planning stage

Now, in principal, I would tend to agree with most of this, but perhaps there needs to be further clarification and also, perhaps, some of the three points mentioned above have little or nothing to do with “art”.

Why do we want art anyway? And, in broad terms, what does “art” encompass? Let’s see, drawings, paintings, sculptures, literature, music… and I guess a whole lot of other stuff on the same lines… What about “incidental” art? What I mean is if something is of beauty, does that become art? A tree is beautiful to look at, touch, smell, is that art? If I draw the tree, it becomes art, but the original thing itself, is that art? Is it not art because it did not intend to be art in the first place? Or is it?

Anyway, back to the other question, why do we want art? Do we need it? Perhaps we do. We all do feel a need to communicate I think, at least most of us. And I guess for most it is not an easy thing to do, so perhaps we look for other avenues to express ourselves, the outcome, can often be called art.

So, some forms of communication are classified as art.

Is all communication art? I wouldn’t think so. I mean, calling someone to go for a cup of coffee is not art, but it is indeed communication.
Is all art communication? A tougher question.

Having said that one of the reasons for art is communication, it would seem that all art needs to be communicative for it to be called art. But, what if the communication is not strong or clear enough? I mean, a painting of a beautiful sunset, could mean something to you and something else to me altogether, so, isn’t that just bad communication?=bad art. Or is it okay to be misunderstood, if so, then what’s the point? What if, you look at a painting, and it does absolutely nothing to you?

Here’s a good one…. Me, the artist, who do I want to communicate to? Do I want to actually communicate with someone else, or am I communicating with myself? Or both maybe…

Is it that complicated?

Well, for my first post on “things”, that was fun. :)