Defining Art
Shelby Williams
Mr. Woelk
Essay 2
Composition II
March 7, 2013
The Real Definition of Art
Have you ever looked at a sketch made by a twenty year old college student of a stick person, a poorly drawn dog, and lines for grass and said to yourself “Man that is art that took actual talent.”? Didn’t think so… What about if it was a drawing your daughter did at the age of five? I bet your judgment changed. That right there you would hang on your refrigerator for the world to see. That is where the question arises; what is art? How can you say that the twenty year olds art is not as good as your daughters? Is it because of the age difference and you are expecting more from the student? Maybe you just do not actually understand art. Let us take a deeper look into all of this, shall we?
Art: Noun (1) The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, “the art of the Renaissance” (2) Works produced by such skill and imagination
The above is the dictionary meaning of the word art which in all honesty means nothing really. That is such a broad definition that you could put this essay down as a form of art, and call it good. Art is not just about skills, and imagination. Everyone in the world has an imagination. However, just because you have an imagination that doesn’t mean what comes from it stands as art. I could think of a pig flying and when I draw it if it looks terrible even though I used the best of my creative skill; it is not art. It is simply a poorly drawn pig with wings. The definition by dictionary also says art is a noun, which once again is wrong. A noun classifies a person place or thing, which once again is so broad that you could say every person in the world is art, because of the process used to make that person. Without getting graphic, that process takes “skill”, imagination, and it makes a “noun”… There for you have art. Wrong. You simply have a person. You see people
Mr. Woelk
Essay 2
Composition II
March 7, 2013
The Real Definition of Art
Have you ever looked at a sketch made by a twenty year old college student of a stick person, a poorly drawn dog, and lines for grass and said to yourself “Man that is art that took actual talent.”? Didn’t think so… What about if it was a drawing your daughter did at the age of five? I bet your judgment changed. That right there you would hang on your refrigerator for the world to see. That is where the question arises; what is art? How can you say that the twenty year olds art is not as good as your daughters? Is it because of the age difference and you are expecting more from the student? Maybe you just do not actually understand art. Let us take a deeper look into all of this, shall we?
Art: Noun (1) The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, “the art of the Renaissance” (2) Works produced by such skill and imagination
The above is the dictionary meaning of the word art which in all honesty means nothing really. That is such a broad definition that you could put this essay down as a form of art, and call it good. Art is not just about skills, and imagination. Everyone in the world has an imagination. However, just because you have an imagination that doesn’t mean what comes from it stands as art. I could think of a pig flying and when I draw it if it looks terrible even though I used the best of my creative skill; it is not art. It is simply a poorly drawn pig with wings. The definition by dictionary also says art is a noun, which once again is wrong. A noun classifies a person place or thing, which once again is so broad that you could say every person in the world is art, because of the process used to make that person. Without getting graphic, that process takes “skill”, imagination, and it makes a “noun”… There for you have art. Wrong. You simply have a person. You see people
Cited: “art.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, 2011. Web. 5 March 2013.