Defining Art

• Most art is crafted with a good sense of what art is, understanding the popular styles, and knowing how it's shown and accepted.
• Early art was created without these ideas, not fitting into recognized traditions.
• A solid art definition needs to cover these early efforts, resulting in a mix of ideas.
• Art is determined by either of the following conditions:
• It demonstrates high skill and successfully achieves notable aesthetic goals, making this the main purpose, or it significantly helps to achieve the main purpose.
• It fits into a recognized art style within a known art history.
• The creator intends it as art, taking necessary steps to make it so.
• Historically grown traditions with genres, theories, criticisms, conventions plays a key, unspoken role in conditions above.
• Artworlds are defined by their beginnings.

Art Definitions

• Many late 20th-century definitions reacted to challenging avant-garde art, especially those that seemed like ordinary objects.
• Andy Warhol's Brillo Boxes and Marcel Duchamp's readymades prompted questions as to why these should be considered art..
• Definitions then aimed to explain the qualification as art or their exclusion.
• An alternative motivation is the recognition of first art.
• Philosophers supported definitions where art relates to previous art.
• Early definitions lacked explicit acknowledgement of art’s starting point, thus requiring a different reasoning for first artworks.
• First art was crafted by individuals likely without the concept of art, therefore acknowledgement of art had to be retrospective.

Earliest Artworks

• It's debated, but it's essential to identify them.
• Hominin ancestors began using basic stone tools about 3.4 million years ago.
• 450,000 years ago, pre-Homo sapiens crafted fine hand axes with symmetry.
• Unusual stones and minerals were used, and some axes were large with no cutting use.
• While showing aesthetic sensibilities, whether these axes are true artworks remains uncertain.
• Cave art by Homo sapiens from 50,000-10,000 years ago coincided with symbolic behaviors.
• This included detailed items, personal decoration, and grave goods.
• Initially thought to appear quickly 30,000-20,000 years ago, dates include older African, Asian, and Australian finds.
• Engraved ostrich shell fragments, around 65,000–55,000 years old could be earliest art form. By at least 40,000 years ago, human ancestors were undeniably artists
• Upper Paleolithic parietal art displays impressive energy, elegance, and skill.
• Purpose of cave art is unknown, but it's rarely doubted as art, and seen to be created by people like us, with similar minds, interests, and feelings.
• Ability to create items full of power and significance signifies art and innovation.
• Overwhelmed by sound trumpeted by Paleolithic art with reverberating resonance.
• Possibility of art having symbolic meaning even while not being fully understood.
• Finger flutings in caves suggest possible invested abstracta.

Defining Art

• Recognition of Upper Paleolithic art teaches lessons about defining art.
• Arthood is relative to an artworld, being a historically ordered tradition with styles, genres, and conventions.
• Objections of autonomous artworlds across cultures render incomplete definitions.
• First art can be created without an artworld context, such as cave drawings made by solitary individuals with few peers.
• Art isn't necessarily intended for aesthetic contemplation or frequent viewership.
• Art’s value can be for the artist's satisfaction not for an audience's pleasure.
• Art serves a function or should be recognized as doing so, not just valued for its own sake.
• Enlightenment encourages separate art from life, uncharacteristic historically.

Multi-Stranded Art Accounts

• Need exists to qualify multiple ways as art..
• Something is art if it demonstrates skillful excellence in achieving aesthetic goals.
• Performing doing fulfills main function or contributes to that function’s fulfillment.
• Something falls under art genre publicly recognized within art tradition.
• Intention of art is there by maker/presenter and appropriate actions taken.
• This definition disjunctive in form.
• Aesthetic accomplishments are important of getting art ball rolling.
• Actual historical progress fleshes other conditions out. . First allows something art even outside all categories, or existing completely alone.
• Lacking relevant concept and backdrop makes skill and achievement intention stand ins for traditions and genres.
• Second allows item's artworld to affect art, whatever creators goals.
• Third acknowledges self-consciousness with room for art practices not always needing skill to be art.
• Implicit in artistic traditions idea, different cultures have distinct artistic practices.
• What constitutes aesthetic goals, certainly more than beauty. Powerful emotions, narratives and realistic depictions are valid.

The Nature of Aesthetic Judgement

• Aesthetic function is incidental to its identity defining practical function.
• Aesthetic decoration used in pattern is often not a work of art, unless primary function gets overtaken.
• Primary function becomes bearing decorative material.
• Some artworks can function as purely aesthetic contemplation.
• Transformation of function occurs for ceremonial sword.
• Other artworks have significant practical functions.
• Two other ways of art can relate to function if work has potential to be art,
• First is secondary aesthetic function, aids the primary one like a beautiful jug also pores smoothly.
• Second function displays aesthetic quality, with maximal function efficiency in the right settings for art to result.
• Not all functionally beautiful/functional is art.

Descriptions of Art

• Describes automatic qualifier as work of are
• Art independently excels skill in creation with harmonious aesthetic
• Art can be cars, furniture, and buildings like the Lamborghini cars
• First condition avoids circularity by of talk with art genres
• Can not characterize is their meda not all which is viable can art is this

Focus On Intensions

• Make presentation and is necessary as appropriate for the intension
• Making conscious reminds its art by making past direction art as tradition constraints what something is
• Not everything can be an artwork at time, but something with paint can be art.
• The the circulation of Dadaist can be to an artworld giving delivered other ways.

Unintended Art?

• Most art is consciously intended and that is what can be done to achieve the desire for its meaning
• Historical plays an and in in desired comes
• Art is within that is making its reference of the part from their tradition

Forms of Art

• Materials within its practice traditions of what makes prehistoric in one

Art-Making

• Levinson avoids tradition in term of the definition is between is their Carroll proposes relationships is
• Art tradition is the tradition through which these things become
• Origins makes which which which sets this its
• What they are and has and has and has to

Explore the multifaceted definitions of art, focusing on skill, aesthetics, historical context, and creator intention. Understand how art is significantly influenced by traditions, genres, theories, criticisms, and conventions. Discover the impact of avant-garde movements.