Artifact II: What is Art?
Artifact: What is Art?
Objectives:
- Consider the origins of art.
- Explore a brief history of Western Art.
- Examine multiple perspectives for evaluating art.
Reflection:
In Dissanayake’s “What is art for?”, she pointed out that art has to be a biological part of the human experience (Dissanayake 15). It is a universal truth of all people. In this way, Dissanayake suggests that art is integral into every era of human history. Society began to recognize it as such as a vehicle for religion, then political protest, and finally to what we see it today as being a vehicle for human emotions (aesthetic experience, which comes up in Unit 4).
In the blog post, I highlighted the modernist idea of art, specifically how the “Artworld” plays an important role in the classification and appreciation of art. A major aspect of art is “the role of the critic became not only helpful but integral to the reception of works of art” (Dissanayake 18). At first, I found the idea that art had become something so abstract, that some authority figure was so necessary in order to deem it art quite absurd. When we began to look at food as art, I saw the value in the modernist idea. The critic is often the primary audience.
Moving Forward
In the future I plan to approach art with a broader sense of the topic. I will examine a piece through the lens of the historical significance and context, as well as the different theories of determining art.