It would not be an understatement to claim that art has existed for as long as the humankind has. From cave paintings to the Enlightenment era art pieces to contemporary interactive installations, art has been the universal language for communicating new ideas and perceptions of reality (Anderson, 2021). However, with its multiple forms and countless representations, as well as iterations throughout millennia, art is quite difficult to define. Although the subject matter has been mostly represented as creative self-expression, art should be defined as a cultural phenomenon that allows capturing a specific era as seen through the lens of a specific culture with its unique values and perspectives.
The existing definition of art fails to grasp the full gamut of influences that shape the development of an art piece and define changes within the very environment, causing art movements to emerge. In turn, the unique and extended definition of art needs to take other dimensions of artworks into account. Specifically, sociocultural, sociopolitical, socioeconomic, and even technological factors as an amalgamation of influences affecting one’s artistic expression and the limitations thereof must be integrated into the analysis to accurately represent art. For instance, introducing the historical perspective into the identification of an appropriate definition for art will show that the subject matter needs to be viewed both as a means of communicating one’s emotions and impressions and the necessity to represent crucial sociocultural relationships. Consequently, art pieces can be regarded as an attempt to immortalize specific ideas, philosophies, and values pertaining to a certain culture and the relevant time period.
The definition of art should be expanded to include the historical context and the connection that it has to a specific cultural and ethnic identity. Specifically, one might consider approaching art from a utilitarian perspective and considering it as a vehicle for healthy emotional expression. Consequently, art can be linked to health, which further shapes its definition and adds another element to it. Specifically, art can be regarded as a tool for conveying a message regarding the well-being of an artist and the community health at large (Tacon, 2019). Namely, art may point to the disparities observed within society and issues that lead to the dissipation of relationships within it, thus, pointing to a metaphorical disease devouring community members (Aires, 2021). The proposed shift in the understanding of art will encourage its further evolution.
Likewise, the absence of distortions and unnatural elements within a specific artistic movement, as well as in individual artworks, may signal the absence of major issues within society and indicate that it is mostly healthy and thriving. Admittedly, art cannot be considered the ultimate measure of social health (Anderson, 2021). However, it clearly contributes to the evaluation thereof since it reflects the emotional status of artists and, with major distortions observed on a continuum, may signal the presence of a noticeable social concern.
Furthermore, art ought to be interpreted as an essential component of the cultural dialogue. In other words, artworks serve the purpose of communicating specific ideas, therefore, gaining an additional semantic component. Specifically, art needs to be viewed as the notion that allows communicating ideas on a cross-cultural level and conveying them in the manner that can be perceived and interpreted by members of different cultures. At this point, one should address the apparent conflict between the notions of art as a universal medium, namely, a language that can be understood by anyone, and the system that incorporates culture-specific, unique ideas. On the one hand, the specified characteristics appear to be incompatible. On the other hand, viewing art as a communication tool that is similar to language in its use of symbols and signs as a shorthand for conveying essential ideas and notions will further allow suggesting that, like language, art can embrace diversity while also retaining elements that are unique to specific cultures.
Indeed, when scrutinizing how different cultures perceive reality and its elements, one will notice that there are multiple overlaps in the interpretation of specific notions, concepts, and phenomena. Furthermore, the specified similarities across different cultures coexist with the presence of countless unique features that make cultures in question inimitable (Wang, 2019). Therefore, art as a medium for conveying these ideas incorporates the specified diversity of ideas, while also embracing the items that are uniform across the existing cultures. Consequently, art can incorporate the specified elements, incompatible though they may seem, and intertwine them organically. Remarkably, the specified aspect of art provides the basis for active cross-cultural communication and cultural exchange, in general (Wang, 2019). In turn, the described process leads to the enrichment of artistic traditions and ideas, spurring further development of innovative ideas and practices, as well as new movements that promote these ideas in art.
With the specified arguments in mind, it will be reasonable to incorporate the notions addressed above as critical components of art. Therefore, the phenomenon of art needs to be represented as the one that represents a means of emotional expression by using the available cultural signifiers and placed in a certain historical context, reflecting the state of an artist’s and community’s well-being, and serving to express a specific idea or provide a social commentary. The proposed definition offers a slightly more accurate identification of art than the currently accepted one since it sets a context for a specific creation to be considered art. Most importantly, the definition in question does not restrict the notion o art to a specific area or form, allowing for maximum freedom and encouraging the full gamut of possibilities. Simultaneously, the provided definition of art determines the function that it serves within society, harkening it to a specific culture and imbuing it with a unique meaning.
Furthermore, the definition above benefits from avoiding specifications regarding the intended meaning of an art piece, as well as art, in general. The specified approach aligns with the current discourse regarding the importance of a personal interpretation and the phenomenon of the death of an author (Biswas, 2021). The latter suggests that, once an artwork is released for the public to observe and embrace, it ceases to represent solely the perspective of its author (Biswas, 2021). Instead, an art piece viewed by the audience encapsulates the entire multitude of the perspectives of observers, therefore, carrying a unique meaning for each viewer (Aires, 2021). The described approach to3ward defining art does not imply that the current framework for representing the subject matter is wrong; on the contrary, the available definition of art helps embrace its diversity and motivates people to contribute to the emergence of new art forms and movements due to the broad range of interpretations that the definition implies. However, injecting a certain amount of nuance into the definition of art and representing it as an intersection of multiple cultures, traditions, and philosophies helps embrace its diversity more actively and in a more evident manner.
Since the existing definition of art interprets the subject matter largely as a means of creative self-expression, the new definition suggests that art is a phenomenon that encompasses expression of culture-specific ideas and emotions that promote the further dialogue and represent the time period and the related trends in socioeconomic, sociocultural, sociopolitical, technological, and environmental domains. Therefore, a respective adjustment must be made to the existing definition of art so that it could represent the specified issues as the core factors shaping the development of art pieces. Interpreting the notion of art in vacuum outside of the described forces as the main influences forging it is impossible, which is why the definition of art should be revisited to include the specified issues. With a more thorough and nuanced understanding pf how societal factors shape the development of artistic trends and ideas, one will be able to examine the evolution thereof and identify a pattern in the emergence of art movements across centuries.
Answers to Questions
- This essay has moderate cultural significance since it addresses a crucial aspect of people’s lives. Art is a major part of any individual’s experience, which is why dissecting its nature and essence is critical.
- The draft has several areas that could benefit from a revision. Namely, the part concerning the multicultural aspect of art could use more incisive analysis.
- The main strengths of this essay are its comprehensiveness, thoroughness, and focus on diversity. However, the essay could use a greater range of sources and evidence, which is an undeniable weakness. Indeed, expressing my opinion on the subject matter was easy, yet integrating supporting sources was quite difficult. The specified issue can be improved by utilizing a more effective approach to searching for academic articles.
References
Aires, M. (2021). “All art is political”: John Keene’s black historical resistance in counternarratives. Em Tese, 26(2), 95.
Anderson, J. A. (2021). Visual arts: Modern art. Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Religion.
Biswas, A. (2021). A critical analysis of the post-structuralist thought with reference to ‘the death of the author’ by Roland Barthes. International Journal of Linguistics, Literature and Translation, 4(1), 195–197.
Tacon, P. S. (2019). Connecting to the ancestors: Why rock art is important for Indigenous Australians and their well-being. Rock Art Research: The Journal of the Australian Rock Art Research Association (AURA), 36(1), 5-14.
Wang, K. (2019). Between Chinese and Western aesthetics. Chinese Culture of Intelligence, 303–321.