What is Art? Meaning and Function

What is Art?

• Considers whether art is about skill or talent.
• Raises the importance of originality.
• Explores the function of a work of art.

Meaning of Art

• Derived from the Latin word "ars," which means ability, skills, to do, or manmade.
• It covers areas of artistic creativity that aim to communicate beauty through the senses.
• The first known use of the word comes from the 13th-century manuscripts.
• Originated in the Italian word "artis," meaning craftsmanship, mastery, and inventiveness.
• Traces stem from works of human creativity, suggesting art results from skills rooted in creativity.
• Art serves as a medium of expression.
• It allows for conveying ideas, emotions, and feelings without words.
• Creative activity involving skill in handling materials and organizing them into something new.
• Britannica online defines art as skill and imagination in creating aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences to share with others.
• The word art encompasses many meanings, including ability, process, and product.
• Ability is the human capacity to make things of beauty that stir skill, mastery, and creativity.
• Process includes the classifications of art: drawing, painting, sculpting, architecture, music, and photography.
• Product is the completed work, such as a painting or sculpture.
• There is no agreed-upon definition of art.
• Art does not necessarily have to be beautiful.
• Art can be created for any number of reasons.

The Meaning of Art Appreciation

• Understanding and appreciating art involves asking questions like "Why was this created?" and "What was its purpose?"
• Art appreciation, or Aesthetic Education, means understanding artworks and enjoying creating arts.
• It involves our interaction with artworks and artists and how they affect us.
• Art appreciation also means exploring and analyzing the art forms we are exposed to.
• Art appreciation is relevant for multiple reasons.

Assumptions of Art

• Art is universal across cultures.
• Art is not nature; it is a representation or interpretation of it.
• Art involves an experience for both the creator and the observer.

Imagination, Creativity, and Expression

• Art is a product of imagination, and its imagination acts as a product of art.
• Albert Einstein says imagination is more important than knowledge, embracing the entire world, all we know, and all can understand.
• Ayn Rand suggests that a creative person is motivated by achievement, not competition.
• Robin George Collingwood says that art does not induce emotion, but expresses it.
• Artists can explore their emotions and create something beautiful.

Functions of Art

• An inquiry into the function of art explores what art is for.
• Every art form has definite functions, fulfilling particular needs.
• To discern the meaning of art, it must serve a utilitarian purpose and fulfill its designed purpose.

Personal or Individual Function

• Artists express themselves for self-expression or gratification.
• They may communicate a thought or perspective to viewers.

Social Function

• Art allows one to extend a sense of belongingness and connection with people.
• Art unites people as one family and community.
• Art forms are created to be seen or used in public settings.

Economic Function

• Art production involves money.
• Reproductions of artworks can generate millions, indicating art's financial significance in a country's economy.

Political Function

• Visual images portraying change defined art's function in the 20th century.
• Art became a medium for promoting programs and political standing.

Historical Function

• Arts record historical figures, events, and commemorate historical people.

Cultural Function

• Cultural representation in art serves to share and transmit cultural values across generations.

Religious Function

• Art forms play a role in cultural spirituality.

Physical Function

• Art can function therapeutically.
• Art therapy can be a form of communication.

Aesthetic Function

• Art helps in beautification, adding appeal and excitement.

Philosophical Importance of Art

• Philosophy presents theories on the significance of art like imitation, beauty, originality, morality, and imagination.

Art as Mimesis by Plato

• Plato viewed art as problematic, as all art forms are imitative and replicas of ideas.
• Plato deemed art a dangerous medium that causes confusion, because it offers insufficient replacements for real entities that can only be attained through reason.

Art as Representation by Aristotle

• Art aims to provide a vision of possibilities in reality.

Art for Art Sake by Immanuel Kant

• Kant considered the judgement of beauty as the cornerstone of art.
• Judgement of beauty something that can be universal despite its subjectivity.