The meaning of art

[starflux]

I have a beef with art. More specifically, the term ‘art’. My entire life I never quite understood what art meant. For the longest time, I thought that was because I just didn’t ‘get’ it. Now I finally understand. It’s a hoax.

Here’s what it is: the term is meaningless. Utterly, absolutely devoid of meaning. ‘The quality, production,

Comments

[rorschach_inc]

I believe you have a point, but let's be fair here, dictionaries are notoriously known to have incorrect descriptions for some of the more abstract terms (like art).
I wouldn't know the first about art though, but I once read a quote by Mondriaan on a building somewhere and I've felt there was some inherent truth it.

"Art has to be forgotten, beauty must be realized."

[starflux]

I deliberately simplified this point in my article, otherwise it would have gotten too heavy, but I did consider of course that this is still only one definition of Art.

However, I will argue that this only serves to illustrate my point: ask any two people to give a description of the term, and they will tell you different things. Since the term is effectively meaningless, everyone just pastes their own ideas on it, making it even LESS reliable and useful to use in the first place.

[rorschach_inc]

I wouldn't go so far in calling something meaningless because a description of it is hard to define. IQ is also quite hard to define, still I wouldn't call it a complete meaningless term (I would call it overrated, but that's another story ^^).
Don't get too worked up about it though, you don't want to end up like Don Quixote. ;)

[starflux]

Art is not hard to define, it's impossible to define, and everyone defines it in another way :) IQ is another term that is nebulous and annoying. Perhaps a bit less so than art, but nonetheless stupid and unacceptable. I hope we'll come up with something better to describe what is now all piled under IQ.

And Don Quixote is not someone to be feared :)

[cassanne]

To me, after visiting numerous museums, the definition seems to be: "Someone who thinks of something first, can choose to call it art." (And if they're loud or pretty enough, people will fall for it.) Because the first toilet seat is Art, all the other ones are fakes. Same goes for Mona Lisa's. Or a floor covered in peanut butter. Etc.

[starflux]

But what if Andy Warhol comes and deliberately makes an exact replica of it, by means of demonstrating against it? Oh dear! ;)

[cassanne]

Being louder and/or prettier than everyone else trumps the first prerequisite ;)

Also, Andy Warhol only gets to call copying art because he thought of it first. I rest my case.