Aesthetics Paper

Submitted By King_tedder
Words: 1264
Pages: 6

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Professor XXXXXx
FA 200
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What is Art? Art is a very subjective topic. Asking questions about art often involve answers that contain people’s opinion. When opinions get involved, it frequently leads to heated debates. Everyone has a different definition of art and how it should be displayed. Art has been integrated into society for centuries and it does not seem to be leaving anytime soon. Aristotle’s quote on art perfectly personifies what art should be about, “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.” When we consider art we must think of three things. One, how does the art look aesthetically? Second what kind of value does the art create? Lastly, how does the art interact with society around it? All art is not created equal, there are paintings that touch souls, and there are paintings that cause the viewer to cringe. While there is a line between good and bad artwork, that line is very blurred. The definition of beautiful is as follows, “pleasing the sense or mind aesthetically”, also a very common euphemism is, “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” These definitions prove that beauty varies between people. Andy Warhol summarizes beauty perfectly, “Everything has its beauty, but not everyone sees it.” I believe that for something to be art it must be delightful to my eyes. If I want to look away immediately after I see a piece of art, the artist has not done his job. There are a few rare occurrences where art will not look beautiful but the message or idea it promotes is wonderful.
Art is an object where artists put their own personality into the article. Whether it is good or not depends on the level of skill the piece of art portrays. If the artist has sloppy brush stroke or a nervous hand, the problems will make themselves evident in the art. I believe that for a piece of art to be considered good, the art must be impossible to recreate without copious training. The artist should have the ability to paint or sculpt better than the average civilian. Many people try to derive a meaning from a piece of art. Since art is, in most cases, a piece of work put out by a singular individual, they are the only person that can conclude what the true meaning of the piece.
The resources one can use for art are innumerous. Items can range from a fork to a wrecked boat. With the wide variety of objects, artists can choose different items to use in a piece of work. Just because an artist will use differing objects does not mean that will make his piece of artwork any better. A collection of spoons thrown in a draw is not art, but if someone were to melt down spoons and create a sculpture signifying world hunger, that would be considered art.
Many things age with time, art ages as well. When it is created it may not be considered art and then with time turn into art. “Art produces ugly things which frequently become more beautiful with time. Fashion on the other hand, produces beautiful things, which always become ugly with time. “ This quote by Jean Cocteau summarizes the aging of art quite well. I believe that art will become better with age, but it should look beautiful after it is done. If an artist puts out a piece of art that needs to age before it is complete, the artist needs to keep the artwork out of circulation till it is done. Art is also like a fine wine, while it ages it gets better. The artwork does not change over a period of time, but our appreciation for the artwork does change. As we become more familiar with a piece of art it should change the way we think about the artwork.
Paintings and sculptors are not the only things that are considered art. Music and video games are another form of art. Music is a medium that creates bonds with the director and artists. You can feel the emotion that the composer puts into his music just by listening to the ensemble. Music lets you see into the composer, which Aristotle says is