What is your definition of art?/why do you consider video games and movies art?

[Phisi]

Hooray for gender-neutral writing!

Wouldn't using 'Their' 'They' be gender-neutral because what about people who don't fall into male or female?

Anyway, I would say that Art is something with artistic value and artistic value is what emotion or idea or self reflection someone can interpret or gain from it. Thus what is art is highly subjective and can be debated and explored by uptight people with a superiority complex XD. Something that has a high level of design may not be art because for that person it means absolutely nothing (until someone shows and explains why it is art to them or whatever) and something where the artist has put a great amount of work into exploring some concept, may not be art to someone who does not notice it (until someone explains it or whatever) but also, something that was created with no meaning what-so-ever can be art because meaning can be detracted from it. William Golding may have just written Lord of the Flies because he was bored and put no thought into it what so ever but is still has artistic merit. So games can be and often are art.

 

[jimahaff]

Why? Why do people care about this?

Is it because we want to be taken seriously? That sounds childish, to be honest.

I can't speak for "people" in general, but I care because I don't understand. I come from a very artistic family. My grandfather has paintings in the Smithsonian (Google Merril Mahaffey if you don't believe me), My dad plays multiple instruments, and has paintings on the wall of our house, one of my Aunts sells her art at galleries, my mother sings, writes poetry, and plays the piano, my sister paints and drawls. But I can't do any of that stuff.

So every once in a while I do have a creative idea, and I am left asking myself "is this art? Is this what it feels like to create something of value?" Because whatever it is that I struggled to come up with isn't anything like what the rest of my family does by instinct. That is why I care, because for my entire life I have been immersed in art that I don't get. I know what art is, but I don't understand what makes something art.

That is why I care about this.

 

[MaxwellEdison]

Art is the use of some medium to portray emotions or thoughts.
Cinema, video games, visual arts, music, etc...All art.

Now, there's a lot of REALLY shitty art, and a lot of soulless cash in art. Especially with films and video games.
But they are artistic endeavors, nonetheless.

 

[Gloomsta]

So I created my own definition of art; Art is any self expression of emotion through media. To me art is for the benefit of the artist, and if anyone else gets something out of it that's great. If it means something to to person who made it, congratulations it's art.

I think you may be partially correct in saying that. Although for me, art can be explained using the simple term "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" From what I've seen in this thread, it's what almost everyone has been trying to say, compacted down to a simple sentence...

Art and Beauty are not synonymous.

That maybe so. But nonetheless, art must be beautiful. Otherwise anything is art. If you find it beautiful; it is art. If someone else finds it beautiful, it is art. I may not be right in what i'm saying, but hey, it's my opinion, and that's how it is...

Dont confuse pretty aesthetics with art. Art is not meant to be beautiful, its meant to be meaningful.

 

[Something Amyss]

People seem to give a massive shit about what art is, and how their favorite pastime counts as art.

Why? Why do people care about this?

Is it because we want to be taken seriously? That sounds childish, to be honest.

I just don't want my passtime to be banned or violated under obscenity laws.

Far as general concern goes, I really don't give a damn what people think. I personally do think multimedia (video games included) are artistic media by default. I also don't want to argue "what is art?" In any sense of the word beyond whether it gets the same legal protections as, say, film.

Can't speak for others.

 

[Gloomsta]

fine, I'll be rudimentary in my acount for you.(i get some what impassioned over this issue)

the guy obviously didn't care about art; he approachs his work like a production line with a detatched disregard many of his contempories who were putting their heart and souls into work they were crucified for (especially those in russia).

If he didnt care about art then why did he dedicate his whole life to it?

That's not oppinion for you thats fact though i don't know why you need it all you need to do is look a The Fountain by Duchamp to see Warhol was imitating dada through pop art and in a garish throw up of exadgerated colours.(personally i prefer picasso but he's not as relevant as duchamp)

Marcel Duchampe questioned what is art, Andy Warhol was fascinated with Glamour,Commercialism(i think he both questioned it and embraced it),breaking barriers with low brow art and high brow art (removing the snobbery)

the problem with warhol is better artists have died in the gutter while `he lived in dionysian indulgence, thats why i condemn his wealth its undeserved.

Better is subjective. Warhol was simply clever enough to pull of what he did. Your also measuring art based on wealth, which is a big no no.

Andy Warhol did not care about art, its easily apparent in the process by which his works were created I'd be straining my memory here but i seem to recall him having workers making his art in his studio he called the Factory.

They didnt make art for him. They worked on what he came up with, so the main creativity stemmed from Warhol. He could still make art on his own.

Warhol is also one dimensional their is no real variety in them or style in his work but that makes it clearer warhol was making art a product, he was about quantity over quality.

Avant Garde films,Illustration and Print Making. Pretty varied.

His work was made to sell not to make a real social statement and that is shallow especially when your pretending to be so deep. And if it was to make a social statement well things mean shit all when you say it as many times as he did.

Maybe Warhol was simply adressing and questioning the commercialism and glamour of america, and one of the ways he did it was to sell.

(see how long that takes without fancy words and i still left stuff out i suggest next time get cosy with a dictionary and work it out).

The words werent really fancy, all you did was repeat yourself about how Andy Warhol was bad with no real facts.

 

[shadow_Fox81]

The words werent really fancy, all you did was repeat yourself about how Andy Warhol was bad with no real facts.

you were the one who said fancy.

but you obviously know more about warhol than me, but i stand by my opinions on his work.

and being an artist by profession dosn't mean you dedicated your life to art nor mean you care about it.

 

[MOXron]

So I created my own definition of art; Art is any self expression of emotion through media. To me art is for the benefit of the artist, and if anyone else gets something out of it that's great. If it means something to to person who made it, congratulations it's art.

I think you may be partially correct in saying that. Although for me, art can be explained using the simple term "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" From what I've seen in this thread, it's what almost everyone has been trying to say, compacted down to a simple sentence...

Art and Beauty are not synonymous.

That maybe so. But nonetheless, art must be beautiful. Otherwise anything is art. If you find it beautiful; it is art. If someone else finds it beautiful, it is art. I may not be right in what i'm saying, but hey, it's my opinion, and that's how it is...

Dont confuse pretty aesthetics with art. Art is not meant to be beautiful, its meant to be meaningful.

Depending upon the context, are meaning and beauty really such a different thing?
Beauty is a substract of meaning. If something is meaningful, someone must see it as beautiful. If you think Beauty is merely aesthetic you are severely mistaken, my friend...

 

[Gloomsta]

So I created my own definition of art; Art is any self expression of emotion through media. To me art is for the benefit of the artist, and if anyone else gets something out of it that's great. If it means something to to person who made it, congratulations it's art.

I think you may be partially correct in saying that. Although for me, art can be explained using the simple term "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" From what I've seen in this thread, it's what almost everyone has been trying to say, compacted down to a simple sentence...

Art and Beauty are not synonymous.

That maybe so. But nonetheless, art must be beautiful. Otherwise anything is art. If you find it beautiful; it is art. If someone else finds it beautiful, it is art. I may not be right in what i'm saying, but hey, it's my opinion, and that's how it is...

Dont confuse pretty aesthetics with art. Art is not meant to be beautiful, its meant to be meaningful.

Depending upon the context, are meaning and beauty really such a different thing?
Beauty is a substract of meaning. If something is meaningful, someone must see it as beautiful. If you think Beauty is merely aesthetic you are severely mistaken, my friend...

Beauty in design is aesthetic.

But ofcourse if you find a beautiful meaning/message/interpretation beyond shiny things, then ye its art.

But im not saying Art is superior to design and aesthetic.

 

[Geekosaurus]

Arts main function is to comment on something. The function of video games is to be fun. Whether either of them are beautiful are not becomes moot.

 

[BlackWidower]

Art is anything that requires creativity to produce,

Does that make mechanical inventions such as a car or a toaster art? It was certainly creative to come up with those.

I think your confusing the words "design" and "art".

The device in and of itself, no. The toaster and car are basically tools, and inventions used for a specific purpose and developed and designed through a logical process of scientific development, and trial and error. Sometimes a toaster can be art, if it is designed from an artistic point of view. But most often then not, no.

A toaster can be beautifully designed, but beautiful design falls short of the definition of art.

However i do agree that a toaster can be used or built for art.

But being creative can often involve being a good inventor or good designer. Design and Art are close, but still seperate.

The question was, what my definition of art is, and I still think all that qualifies as art. Some cars can qualify as art, the exception there being if its design is purely inspired by the laws of physics, and nothing else.

Yes but what you talk about is design and not art.

Good design doesnt have a message to qualify as art.

Well, when you look at it: much modern art doesn't have a message either.

Thing is that unless there is a special toaster designed for an art purpose, their all made to look good and fit in the home. Thats good design.

Wether you like Modern Art or not, the artists that make modern had a message in mind(i hope they did), even the contempory artists. Im not a big fan of contempory, but i guess its still art.

You obviously never heard of this story: http://www.cracked.com/article_19419_6-parodies-that-succeeded-because-nobody-got-joke_p2.html

Two people try to prove that most modern art sucks, by intentionally creating art poetry that was just a mash-up of words. That have no meaning, and nobody notices.

Look, my point is, good design is art. They are no different.

 

[Shirastro]

In my not so humble opinion art has nothing to do with beauty ,fun or quality. Also art is not subjective. For something to be art you don't have to like or respect it.
It's very important to understand a difference between art, artistry, design and craft. Unfortunately English language kinda fails at this, and today everyone gets the label of "artist".
I die a little inside every time i hear some presenter saying " And the next artist performing on stage is Rihana (or any other pop star).
No, Rihana is a singer. The composer who composed her songs is the artist.
Just like Merill Strip is an actress and the director of her movies is the artist.
Also even if it's the best looking car ever made, it's not piece of art, it's a piece of good design.

But to answer your question. What is art?
Art is an attempt to communicate emotions and ideas in an empathic manner, by making you "feel" and "understand" them as if they were your own.

Let me elaborate.

I can say or write down a simple sentence, "Being greedy is bad" and while most people will agree with this nobody would consider it art.
I could write a 10 page long study on how and why being greedy is a bad thing and still most people would agree with me, and still most people wouldn't consider that art.
However a book in which main theme is greed(and there are plenty to choose from) will be consider art. Why? Because that book will not only transfer the message about greed being bad, but will also make you understand what greed is and why it's bad.
A good book will make you feel greed without making you greedy. That's art.

A better example would be paintings. In fact it's a prefect example for understanding the difference between being good at something and actual art.

Imagine the best piece of fan art you can. Some dude in some cool pose, with incredible colours and attention to details. Anatomically speaking, its perfect, and it can match and surpass the bravura of any renaissance painter....and yet it's not art.
It's devoid of any true meaning or depth. There is no idea or message behind it. It exist simply because it's cool and to show of the skill of the painter.

This is art:

Spoiler

First time i saw this picture i didn't know it's name or who painted it.
The first thing i thought of, the first emotion it aroused in me was that of melancholy.
I was absolutely delighted when i found out the name of the painting, and it will forever remain my favorite piece of true art.

Art =/= beauty

Spoiler

Art =/= quality
An example of this would be a cheese love song. It's cheese and shallow, but there's still emotion behind it (however cheese and shallow) and that emotion of, usually, broken hart is easily transferred.

P.S. Bah spoiler tags not working for some reason!

 

[Jonluw]

Art is defined by its proximity to the gallery.

 

[Gloomsta]

Art is anything that requires creativity to produce,

Does that make mechanical inventions such as a car or a toaster art? It was certainly creative to come up with those.

I think your confusing the words "design" and "art".

The device in and of itself, no. The toaster and car are basically tools, and inventions used for a specific purpose and developed and designed through a logical process of scientific development, and trial and error. Sometimes a toaster can be art, if it is designed from an artistic point of view. But most often then not, no.

A toaster can be beautifully designed, but beautiful design falls short of the definition of art.

However i do agree that a toaster can be used or built for art.

But being creative can often involve being a good inventor or good designer. Design and Art are close, but still seperate.

The question was, what my definition of art is, and I still think all that qualifies as art. Some cars can qualify as art, the exception there being if its design is purely inspired by the laws of physics, and nothing else.

Yes but what you talk about is design and not art.

Good design doesnt have a message to qualify as art.

Well, when you look at it: much modern art doesn't have a message either.

Thing is that unless there is a special toaster designed for an art purpose, their all made to look good and fit in the home. Thats good design.

Wether you like Modern Art or not, the artists that make modern had a message in mind(i hope they did), even the contempory artists. Im not a big fan of contempory, but i guess its still art.

You obviously never heard of this story: http://www.cracked.com/article_19419_6-parodies-that-succeeded-because-nobody-got-joke_p2.html

Two people try to prove that most modern art sucks, by intentionally creating art poetry that was just a mash-up of words. That have no meaning, and nobody notices.

Look, my point is, good design is art. They are no different.

Good Design, for the sake of Good Design is not art by definition. Its good design, nothing wrong with that, but why are you trying to put it into something else?

Oh and just because of some shit today in the artworld doesnt mean that everything is shit.

Wall-E is a modern animated movie that has in my opinion a deep message, an example of good modern art.

 

[Aur0ra145]

Is all art real art and is 'pop art' art?

 

[BlackWidower]

Art is anything that requires creativity to produce,

Does that make mechanical inventions such as a car or a toaster art? It was certainly creative to come up with those.

I think your confusing the words "design" and "art".

The device in and of itself, no. The toaster and car are basically tools, and inventions used for a specific purpose and developed and designed through a logical process of scientific development, and trial and error. Sometimes a toaster can be art, if it is designed from an artistic point of view. But most often then not, no.

A toaster can be beautifully designed, but beautiful design falls short of the definition of art.

However i do agree that a toaster can be used or built for art.

But being creative can often involve being a good inventor or good designer. Design and Art are close, but still seperate.

The question was, what my definition of art is, and I still think all that qualifies as art. Some cars can qualify as art, the exception there being if its design is purely inspired by the laws of physics, and nothing else.

Yes but what you talk about is design and not art.

Good design doesnt have a message to qualify as art.

Well, when you look at it: much modern art doesn't have a message either.

Thing is that unless there is a special toaster designed for an art purpose, their all made to look good and fit in the home. Thats good design.

Wether you like Modern Art or not, the artists that make modern had a message in mind(i hope they did), even the contempory artists. Im not a big fan of contempory, but i guess its still art.

You obviously never heard of this story: http://www.cracked.com/article_19419_6-parodies-that-succeeded-because-nobody-got-joke_p2.html

Two people try to prove that most modern art sucks, by intentionally creating art poetry that was just a mash-up of words. That have no meaning, and nobody notices.

Look, my point is, good design is art. They are no different.

Good Design, for the sake of Good Design is not art by definition. Its good design, nothing wrong with that, but why are you trying to put it into something else?

Oh and just because of some shit today in the artworld doesnt mean that everything is shit.

Wall-E is a modern animated movie that has in my opinion a deep message, an example of good modern art.

'Modern art' is not the same as art made in modern times. Wall-E is not modern art. It's modern, it's art, but it's not modern art.

Design is art because it requires creativity, which is the definition of art.

 

[KeyMaster45]

My definition is anything created by deliberate action that stimulates my imagination or which is enjoyable to experience. There also has to be some level of talent behind it. As in I should be able to look at it and think "damn, wish I had spent my developing years learning how to do that." For reference of what doesn't qualify in my book you need look no further than most of Jackson Pollock's works. If that's art then I was an artistic savant in pre-school finger painting.

 

[zehydra]

I don't consider video games or movies art.

Also, everything is subjective. Everything.

Lulz, you're kidding right?