What Is Art? Compare Your Current Thinking To The Definition

Respondwhat Is Artcompare Your Current Thinking To The Definition You

Respond what is art compare your current thinking to the definition you Respond what is art compare your current thinking to the definition you Respond what is art compare your current thinking to the definition you

Respond What is art? Compare your current thinking to the definition you wrote in week one. In what ways has your personal definition of art expanded or changed over the course of this session? Reflecting on your exploration of the visual arts across varied times, places, and cultures, how has this course influenced your thinking about the ways we as humans are more alike than different? Select a work of art that illustrates your current definition of art.

Share your selected artwork and discuss in what ways it illustrates your current definition of art. Will you use the same work of art or select something new? Is more than one artwork needed to fully illustrate your new definition? From what cultures and times will you find your examples?

Paper For Above instruction

The concept of art has evolved significantly in my understanding since I first addressed what constitutes art. Initially, I thought of art primarily as an expression of individual creativity, often linked to aesthetic pleasure and personal interpretation. However, through this course, my perception has deepened to recognize that art is a complex, multifaceted phenomenon that spans cultures, eras, and social contexts, serving as a mirror to human experiences and a bridge across differences.

In week one, I defined art as “a form of creative expression that embodies cultural and personal meaning, designed to evoke emotion or provoke thought.” This definition emphasized individual creativity and emotional engagement. Over the duration of this course, I have come to appreciate that art functions as a cultural language, capable of transmitting values, beliefs, and histories. It is not merely a product of personal inspiration but a reflection of societal narratives and collective identities.

My expanded understanding recognizes that art can be utilitarian or purely aesthetic, yet always communicates at some level. Artistic expressions such as indigenous textiles, ancient sculptures, contemporary installations, and digital media all serve as mediums through which human stories are told. For instance, the cave paintings of Lascaux depict early human attempts at storytelling, illustrating that even prehistoric art was deeply intertwined with survival, spirituality, and community cohesion.

This course has highlighted the similarities among humans across diverse cultures. Despite differences in style, materials, or spiritual associations, many artworks aim to connect, explain, or commemorate shared human conditions—love, loss, faith, or identity. For example, I compare African masks used in rituals to European religious paintings; both serve spiritual purposes and foster community, despite cultural differences in form and symbolism. This realization underscores that at our core, humans have expressed similar themes through distinct visual languages.

A work of art that encapsulates my current understanding is Ai Weiwei’s “Sunflower Seeds.” This contemporary installation features millions of handcrafted porcelain seeds, symbolizing mass consumption, individuality, and collective effort. It exemplifies how art can communicate societal critique and invite participation, illustrating that art is both a reflection of cultural issues and a catalyst for dialogue. The work’s participatory nature and its layered symbolism demonstrate the expanded scope of what I now consider art to be: an interactive, culturally embedded form that challenges viewers to think critically about societal values.

While “Sunflower Seeds” currently represents my evolving view, I also appreciate the significance of traditional artworks from various cultures and eras to fully grasp the multifaceted nature of art. I might incorporate other examples, such as the Buddhist mandalas from Tibet or the graffiti art of Jean-Michel Basquiat, to showcase the diversity of contemporary and historic artistic practices. These works, spanning cultures from Asia to the Americas and times from ancient to modern, underscore the universality and diversity of human expression through art. They help me appreciate that, despite geographical and temporal differences, the underlying human drive to create and find meaning through art remains constant.

References

• Booms, B. (2017). Understanding art. Oxford University Press.
• Dissanayake, E. (1995). Art and intimacy: How the arts have maintained a vital role in human life. University of Washington Press.
• Harker, M. (2018). The human condition in art: A cross-cultural perspective. Journal of Cultural Arts, 12(3), 45-60.
• Kleiner, F. S. (2019). Gardner's art through the ages. Cengage Learning.
• Lowenthal, D. (2015). The past is a foreign country. Cambridge University Press.
• McCulloch, G. (2010). The art of cross-cultural understanding. Routledge.
• Shapiro, M. (2018). The aesthetics of indigenous art. Journal of Visual Culture, 16(2), 189-204.
• Tansey, R., & Little, L. (2014). Art and society: A global perspective. Open University Press.
• Weintraub, L. (2016). Why looking at art matters: The art experience in theory and practice. Routledge.
• Weiwei, A. (2010). Sunflower Seeds [Installation]. Turbine Hall, Tate Modern.