While having yet another online conversation about art and what it is, I was recently struck by an amazing revelation. My view of art, what it is, and how to look at it has changed, I think, and although this view may be unorthodox or even heretical to some, it makes the most sense of anything I’ve heard or read about art to this point in my life. Here it is: It doesn’t matter what art is. “What is art?” is an irrelevant question.
After four years in college being constantly tackled with this question, I think I’m finally through with it. It doesn’t matter. There are three reasons for this: One, because it seems like these days anything anyone wants to call art can be; Two, because it just seems like a label that the elites put on something in order to tell us that we should care about it; and three, it seems like a way for some people to dismiss things they don’t like by saying something isn’t art. Two and three art quite related.
To boil the whole problem down, though, it’s that we’re asking the wrong questions. Instead of asking if something is art, we ought to actually discuss the piece and see what it means to us and what it does for us. Then we can begin to actually interact with the piece. Basically, the question should be, “Do you like it?” and then the reasons why or why not. Let’s stop trying to come up with a concrete and objective definition of an abstract and subjective idea.
It’s subjective, because as I said anything can be art if someone wants it to be. Poo in a can is art. Video games are art. Nature is art. Mass produced items are art. Anything is art according to someone.
As I also said, it’s basically just a label that really means “This is good” or “This is bad.” Elites use it to elevate something to an important status. Other people dismiss certain pieces they don’t like by saying they aren’t art. Why not just get to the heart of it? Forget the label and just tell me what you think of it.
I just wish I’d come up with this earlier. I’d love to have been in an art class and blurt this out.