What Is Art?

The idea of art is difficult to define. Art is relative and the old saying “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” consistently rings true. To a parent, their child's drawing of clouds in the sky can be considered a masterpiece, bringing the same amount of delight and awe that the Mona Lisa brings to the 6.6 million visitors of the Musee du Louvre in Paris each year.

Determining whether or not something is art proves a tricky task. While pedestrians might be annoyed at the roadblock a street performer creates, those who stand around to watch the performance certainly seem to enjoy the show and the performer appreciates the chance to display his personal art. City officials are constantly battling graffiti in neighborhoods as citizens complain about its unsightliness. However, those who tag walls and sides of old warehouses are using it as a form of artistic self-expression.

We hear the term artist tossed around quite frequently: recording artist, fashion artist, hair and make-up artist, design artist. The list goes on, but each one of these people has dubbed themselves an artist because, in their eyes, they are creating art. It might not be the typical sense of art seen in museums, but it is art nonetheless. Musical taste is often the case in arguments between parents and their teenagers; one sees it as a highly entertaining form of art and the other wants them to just turn it down!

Art is defined by the online version of Merriam-Webster dictionary as “the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects.” This is a very open definition. Nowhere does it state that art must be a painting or a symphony, however these are the forms of art that tend to garner the most recognition, especially as they age. The Mona Lisa is considered art because of its seamlessness in style and form, and because that eerie smile has kept people wondering what the model is smiling about for centuries.

The ability to withstand time is a major factor in art. Music students still learn to play classical Mozart and Beethoven pieces because these composers have set the standard for what orchestral and symphonic music should sound like. Works of art holding up over time have a certain panache that similar items lack. They withstand simply because they are good. So while little Billy's drawing hanging on the refrigerator today might never end up in the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art, the fact that Mom hangs on to it, maybe even just in a box of memorabilia somewhere, means something. It was art to her.