Hello World Forum

From as long as I can remember, I have been interested in the world of creativity, specifically visual arts. I have been creating mostly two-dimensional artwork since I was a child and it continues to play a significant role in my life. I am now a senior in college studying fine art specifically focusing on painting and design. I truly believe that creative brains work very differently than others. The way that I describe something is by pushing paint around on a canvas as opposed to writing words down on a piece of paper. I recently tried to explain myself to some friends, and when it resulted in a frustrated conversation that got nowhere, I realized that it is something that might never be understood from an outsider’s perspective. I see colors differently than a lot of other people in this world and I’m okay with that. In addition to creating and analyzing physical works of art, I am extremely interested in the numerous theories surrounding art, specifically ones that attempt to define it. I believe that defining the yes and no’s of art is a topic that will permanently be an ongoing discussion. Having found an interest in this unknown answer of what art is supposed to be, I have learned to constantly keep my mind open while being accepting of various concepts and theories that I may not necessarily always agree with myself.

In my opinion, I believe that art is anything that an individual claims it to be. Anyone can be an artist if they claim themselves to be one and they have the opportunity to create anything. Their word should be enough to validate their creations. In addition, I believe that conceptual art is equally as valid as physical artwork. Stealing ideas or intellectual property is simply a whole other topic. There is a huge debate about the validity of artwork and I don’t think it will disappear anytime soon. For example in the 1900’s, artist Marcel Duchamp created a sculpture titled “Fountain”. This piece is a urinal placed on its back signed by the artist under a different name. This readymade object is art because the artist declared it to be. This moment was a turning point for twentieth century artwork and truly changed the way artists began to look at what is considered art.

In today’s age, the question of art still remains. What exactly falls into the “art” definition and category? Since art is subjective, people should be able to make their own definitions for what they truly consider to be art regardless of the setting or physical composition of the work. When an artist finishes creating a piece of artwork and decides to present it in a gallery or museum setting for example, does the ownership transcend from the artist to the audience? Is the piece now appealing to the viewer’s perception of the work, or is the artist’s concept still just as important? When a viewer experiences a piece of art and develops their own opinion and viewpoint about the work, what does that mean? Are their thoughts valid even though they may be completely different from the emotions that the artist had intended to provoke? Do those thoughts and concepts about the piece of work that they are viewing mean anything? These are all questions that I hope to pursue this semester while writing about art.