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What Is the Meaning of Art

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What Is the Meaning of Art
What is the meaning behind Art
Colinda Kram
American Intercontinental Univeristy
7/28/2013

Abstract
In this abstract I will provide a definition of art. I will briefly touch on the definition of fine and visual art. We will discuss some of the basic concepts and how to look at art and analyze it. I will give examples of eight different types of art created by established artist and provide a non-bias overview of each and I will provide a conclusion on my definition of art.

What is art?
As stated by (Torres& Kamhi)"What is art?"--as well as the frequently appended question "Who decides? By their definition it is called art if it has been publicized in a book or magazine, bought by a collector or admirer or holds a place in a museum then it must be art.
Art can also be defined as anything beautiful or aesthetically pleasing to the eye of the beholder as such this would be defined as fine art, a creation of work through imagination in which the artist creates a sculpture or painting on canvas could be defined as visual art. Art can be expresses in many different forms such as; dance, conversation and telling stories to name just a few. (Free Dictionary N.D.)
The artist Salvador Dali was born in 1904 in Figueres, Spain. He had a significant following of admirers and one of his famous paintings, “The Persistence of Memory” has intrigued me. This particular piece of art is oil on canvas and is presented at the Museum of Modern art in New York. “The Persistence of Memory “portrays melting watches, one which is covered in ants; half of the painting is in shadows, the other in sun and a partial face lying on the ground. There is an ocean scene in the background. What I believe makes this canvas a piece of art is the mystery behind brush. It is very difficult to understand what the true interpretation of this piece of art is, however it incites those that view it to try to interpret what the artist was trying to illustrate. It is whatever



References: What Art Is: The Esthetic Theory of Ayn Rand, by Louis Torres & Michelle Marder Kamhi (Open Court, 2000) (2010).

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