What is art for discussion

In Ellen D’s discussion about what is art for, she mentioned that art ‘,ust be viewed as an inherent universal (or biological trait of the human species’. (page 1). Her idea of art is unique because of her multicultural background and her main argument is that art is a kind of behavior that developed so that human could survive. In the article, She firstly listed some of the western art development and how each movement could be seen as causes and representations of societal changes. In the section of modernism, the author specifically mentioned how the idea of ‘aesthetics’ suggests that art has gradually developed into a method of representation and interpretation. She mentioned that “artists, just like everybody else, do not see the world in any singularly privileged or objectively truthful way, but rather-like everybody- interpret it according to their individual and cultural sensibilities “ (page 19) . And how art has become no longer universal, but something conceptually constructed by individual, an idea that the author finds questionable.

I personally has no problem with the idea of art being for life‘s sake. However, art as a natural function does extend into the spiritual sphere. While art is a direct representation for social movements and an essential behavior among human beings, I consider art as a more mystical way of communication between individuals throughout time. The special thing about art is less about how art’s aesthetic value lasts eternally, but how people in all times identify and interpret art in order to fulfill their own spiritual demands. Art substantially exists, and the interpretations of art throughout history make art more and more meaningful. Art is like a mirror: it reflects how human behave, think and exist, both in the material domain we encounter everyday and in the spiritual domain where mysticism rests.