The Challenges of Defining “Art”

Much like trying to define “beauty,” defining “art” is also problematic.

For whichever definition is suggested, there will be some who disagree with its vagueness or its constraints. As in the case of a pair of Burberry glasses on the museum gallery floor, developing a set of criteria can be subject to differences in perception.

For example, what are the parameters of the criteria?

• Is art defined only by its aesthetic qualities?
• Is art something that must lack utilitarian function?
• Must art have a meaning or an intent?
• Is it “art” because the creator of the work says it is so?
• Is it “art” only when an art critic declares it to be so?
• Is art something that is only made by hand?
• Why do we define some things as “craft” and some things as “art?”
• Can a child’s drawing be considered “art”?
• Can art be considered art if it is temporary - as in a performance piece or installation?
• Does the medium with which an artwork is created dictate its value or worthiness as “art” (e.g., an oil painting on canvas versus a comic book illustration)?

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Delineating the Parameters - The Theories of Art

What makes something a work of art - or not - is mainly dependent on the criteria used and the perspective taken. Theories of Art are often attempts to understand the essence of what makes something art.  They usually focus on a single key concept, such as “expression” or “representation.”

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The Impact of Art in Society - Why a “Philosophy of Art?”

In Dialectical Materialism, Russian philosopher Alexander Spirkin (1918 - 2004) wrote the following on the connection between Philosophy and Art:

“No scientifically, let alone artistically, thinking person can remain deaf to the wise voice of true philosophy, can fail to study it as a vitally necessary sphere of culture, as the source of world-view and method. Equally true is the fact that no thinking and emotionally developed person can remain indifferent to literature, poetry, music, painting, sculpture and architecture. Obviously, one may be to some extent indifferent to some highly specialised science, but it is impossible to live an intellectually full life if one rejects philosophy and art. The person who is indifferent to these spheres deliberately condemns himself to a depressing narrowness of outlook.

Does not the artistic principle in philosophical thought deserve the attention of, and do credit to, the thinking mind, and vice versa? In a certain generalised sense the true philosopher is like the poet. He, too, must possess the aesthetic gift of free associative thinking in integral images. And in general one cannot achieve true perfection of creative thought in any field without developing the ability to perceive reality from the aesthetic standpoint.”

Aesthetics has an influence on other areas of study. Consider all the forms of art - from visual arts to architecture - and you can understand why there is a Philosophy of Art. Art records our history, is expressed through mathematics, reflects our social and cultural development, and can provide insight into the power structures that make up our society.

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Does Art have to be Beautiful? A Return to Aesthetics

At the beginning of this activity, you were asked to share your definition of art. Even before you were introduced to the theories of art, you most likely had an idea of what you liked, and what you would consider to qualify as art.

You had a sense of an aesthetic.

As addressed in the first activity of this unit, aesthetics is a branch of philosophy dealing with the nature of beauty, art, and taste, and with the creation and appreciation of beauty.

In this activity, we looked for a definition of art. This meant exploring art forms that may have been outside your aesthetic experience. 

So what is the foundation for your aesthetic judgment? How would you explain to someone why you like one artwork over another?