LoganBleyenburg

ProfessorMattGaudian
CollegeArt100
26October2015
WhatIsArt?
Thispaperwillfocusonsomeofthebasicsofwhatisconsideredart.Manythingsin
societyareconsideredart,butwhatreallymakesitart?Also,thispaperwillfocusonwhatisnot
art,whatisgoodart,andwhatmakessomeartbetterthanothers.ThemovieExitThroughthe
Shopwillalsobeusedtohelptellwhatmakessomeofthesethingsthatwerementioned.The
mainfocusofthispaper,however,isart.
Accordingtoadictionary,artismakingsomethingfromyourimaginationorcreative
skills,andmakingthemintovisualformintheshapeofapainting,sculpture,ordrawingfor
otherpeopletoenjoy.Mostofthetimeartiscreatedforpeopletolookatbecauseoftheir
beauty,butsometimesartiscreatedtobefunny,orpossiblyevenuse.ToPlato,artwas
somethingfromnature,butafterthenineteenthcentury,photographytookoverthataspectofart.
Artwasalsothoughtofrepresentingsomethingelse,butthatwastakenoverbyabstractart
makingsomethingthatisreallookmorefake,butstillusessomeofthemainprincipleofart
including:lines,shapes,andtexture(Herman1).Thisisanexplanationofwhatartis,but
anotherquestionthatisoftenaskedis:whatisnotart?
Artisnotalwayswhatsomeonesaysitis.Somepeoplesayyourartcanbeanythingyou
wouldlikeittobe.Thisisnottrue,yourarthastoactuallybesomething.Artneedstobe
acceptedbyothersinorderforittobeart.Someonemayhaveanideaofchangingsomethingup

inschoolandeveryonenoticesit,thenitwouldbeconsideredart.Ifanideaiscreated,butno
oneunderstandsitspoint,itisthennotartbecauseitisnotacceptedbyeveryone.Artcannot
justbeanything,thatiswhyimaginationisinthedefinitionofart(Lickteig1).Someartthatis
createdisconsideredbetterthanothers.
Somepeoplesaythatacertainpieceofartisgoodart,butwhatmakesapieceofart
goodart?Someartiststhinkthatwhattheycreateisalwaysaworkofart,butiftheywork
hardenoughonit,thenitmayjustbecomeapieceofart.Ifsomeonesaysthatapaintingis
good,butkeepswalkingonandwouldnotcomebacktolookatit,thatwouldprobablynotbe
suchgoodart.Whensomeonekeepscomingbacktolookatsomethingandenjoysiteverytime,
thenthatartwouldbeconsideredgoodart.Differenttechniquescouldhelpcreatebetterart,
butiftheviewerhassomethinggoingonintheirmindabouttheart,thatwouldbeconsidered
betterthanonethatonlygetsviewedforacoupleseconds(BoddyEvans1).Oftentimesone
pieceofartisconsideredbetterthananother.
Whenjudgingart,onepieceofartisconsideredtobebetterthananotherbecausethey
mayusesomeofthefollowing:beautyoftheart,uniqueness,skill/techniqueused,meaning,and
intentoftheart.Apieceofartthatincludesallofthefollowingwouldbeconsideredthebest
pieceofartwhenbeingjudged.Thebestartalsohasmeaningbeyondthepieceofart,itmay
makeemotionscome,bringtearsorhappiness(Duhrkoop1).Artshouldbeunderstandableby
thepersonviewingit.Severalofthesethingswereshowninthevideowatchedinclass.
Tobackallofthisinformation,thevideowatchedinclassshowedexamplesforeachof
thesecategories.Asstatedinthemovie,artcanbeanywhere,andcanbemadewithanymeans
necessary.Themoviedidnotsaywhatartisnot,buteverythingaboutthevideowasart.Terry,

theowneroftheartstore,hadpeoplemakingartforhim.Thisisoftenquestionwhetheritisart,
butaslongastheycameupwiththeideas,itwouldbeconsideredart.Spraypaintcanswere
createdtobeovertenfoottall,butthisjustgoestoshowthatartcanbejustaboutanything.
Oncethestoreopeneduptothepublic,peoplewerelinedupforalongwaysjusttochecktheart
museumout.Ifpeopleaccepttheartandenjoyit,itisthenconsideredtobeart.Eventhevideo
thatwastakentomakethefilmwouldbeconsideredartbecauseoftheamountoftimeputinto
thewholevideo,theamountoffilmTerrywentthrough,andthathecapturedanartistand
peopledoingart.

WorksCited
BoddyEvans,Marion.
WhatMakesaPaintingGoodorBad?
.About,n.d.Web.26Oct.2015.
Duhrkoop,Dan.
HowtoJudgeArt:FiveQualitiesyoucanCritiquewhetheryoureanArtistor
not
.N.p.,18Nov.2006.Web.26Oct.2015.
Herman,JudithB.
27ResponsestotheQuestionWhatisArt?
.N.p.,27June2014.Web.26
Oct.2015.
Lickteig,Mike.
WhatisArt?WhatisNotArt?
.N.p.,7Feb.2011.Web.26Oct.2015.