Art is?

ART?

‘Art’ as in the activity of painting, for example, arranges forms, shapes, photos etc.  on a flat surface intended to be hung on an upright structure. The images on the canvas are deliberately arranged and intended to have an emotional appeal to the senses of the spectator. 

The person who creates work for viewing, listening,  reading, painting,  music,  writing,, a dancing, singing, acting,  film making, is an artist. All these art forms, are intended to move the senses in some way.

The art of painting has constantly passes through various changes from the very early cave paintings up to the present.

The purpose of all artistic expression is to communicate with the emotions, ideas and thoughts of the audience.

Artists in the nineteenth century were mainly concerned with truth and beauty.  However, with the advent of late nineteenth century Modernism, the concept the truth and beauty concept was shattered.

In the twentieth century painters searched for different possibilities of expression. A number of movements such as Impressionism, Expressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Dadaism, Surrealism arose, one overtaking the previous one in an effort to find out how and what can be achieved.

Modernism was the antagonist. The notion of art’s function was in tatters. Things went from bad to worse in the late twentieth century. Postmodernism arrived, closely followed by Abstract Expressionism which was to try and justify flat abstract painting. Art was limited by the flat surface, the frame, kinds of paints available. Modernism sought to draw attention to how the flat surface could be used positively.

In the 20th  and early 21st century. Pop artists like Andy Warhol became recognised and influential through the repeated images such as “The Marilyns” and “Campbell’s Soup”  - large canvasses showing numerous images of the one subject. Radical artists in the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s extended this technique to other subjects such as fashion images, comics, billboards.

Art has always been unable to claim its purpose as belonging to any single concept.
Some of its functions are the motivated and some are non-motivated.

The non-motivated forms do not fulfill any specific purpose. Art, is something which humans must do by their very nature since no other species creates art, and thus there is no utilitarian purpose. A way is provided for us to experience ourselves as creators in relation to the mysteries of the universe.

Unlike words, which are sequential and meaningful art is simply a range of forms, symbols and ideas and the meanings are open to interpretation. .

Motivated art is intentional, created consciously by the artist, who also has a motive. This might be to activate political change, to comment on some aspect of society, to  deliberately convey a specific emotion, to sell a product, or simply to communicate.
It  may also be intended for entertainment, relaxation such as Movies or video games.
 
 Art for social inquiry, subversion and/or anarchy sought to question some aspects of society without any particular goal. This function might be simply to criticize what it considers unacceptable.
 
 The “Art?” embraces the many changes which it has undergone over time, in this case, painting. It is probably safest to say Art is a form of expression of all facets of creativity which seeks to communicate and touch the emotions of any given audience.