Due to some comments by my significant other, I would like to take a poll of everyone who visits this site. I don't care if you're a regular reader (all 5 of you) or someone who just found the site by accident, whether you're from France or Hong Kong.
Take a good look at the pictures along the sidebar, especially the top sculpture, La Négresse Blonde, and Photo-Transformation, November 22, 1973, which is farther down the page. Do you consider these pieces "art"? Or do you think that they are just completely ugly and ridiculous? Also, what do you think about Untitled?
So post your vote and speak your mind!
5 comments:
"Untitled" may be the one color we haven't tried on the kitchen walls.......
La Négresse Blonde...eh
Photo-Transformation, November 22, 1973...eh
Untitled...crap
La Négresse Blonde- Interesting to look at, I could stare at it awhile, but always thinking "what is that and what for?"
Photo-Transformation, November 22, 1973- Kinda speaks the language of the 70's I guess, the bright colors and all. Wouldn't want that hand coming towards me in a dream though. It's probably look better to me if the hand was a little more on the faded side as well.
"Untitled" by Barnett Newman, 1970 - Did the picture load or am I supposed to be looking at a chalk board? :D
OK, inspired by lectures both from last term's Illuminated Manuscripts class and the lecture this week in Traditio Occidentis on Greek architecture, I have been grappling with some provocative thoughts re: Art. What is art? Really what is it? We use the word for so many things really; we talk about the art of writing, the art of living, modern art, and refrigerator art. The best I can tell from what all these things have in common is that art is visually acknowledged craft. In other words art what is seen when we purvey work. It is fundamentally connected to seeing the thing formed. Creation is God's handiwork, His art. The things we make from His creation become our art. Therefore, for us art is inextricably connected to culture (fashioned nature). It is culture seen, culture as it is perceived through our sense of vision. Converse to this is what we speak of as Art proper. By this (as I understand) we mean things made primarily for the sake of being viewed. More than this, Art proper are those things made to be seen and to invoke a response (visual, emotional, thoughtful, verbal or otherwise) based solely on its quality (by this I do not mean high or poor quality, but composition). Consequently we have paintings, sculptures, pictures, films, and certain kinds of architecture. So, broadly speaking, art is anything that is made when we see it; narrowly, Art is anything that we make to see it. It would seem too that there is almost a seamless continuum between the two. Take for instance the following progression: a pencil, a book cover, a desk, a family portrait, a TV commercial, a house, the Rodin sculpture on the lawn, the same sculpture in the Legion of Honor. Which is art and which is Art? In all of those things some degree of aesthetic sense went into making them. I suppose I have only made things more complicated now.
The problem remains though; to a varying extent everything which we see is art. So the question becomes for the Christian not whether something is art or not, but whether it is good or bad art; true or false art, beautiful or ugly art. As subjective as we have been trained to think these things are, as Christian we must recover a sense of their objectivity.
So while a blue canvas may be art, it is not palatable art because it tries to pass off the simple as skillful, complex and profound. The same may be said of Bracusi, it is minimalist chaos, neither deserving the praise of profundity nor affording simple delight. Similarly, Samaras attempts to fool you by calling the ugly beautiful and disorder pleasant. I could go on, but that’s alll I have for now
Carrie here. My responce is nice and simple (especially after that Dissertation "Someone" wrote, (ahem)).
It's all art. You or I might not like it, understand it, enjoy it, or agree with it, but it's art. It creates controversy and discussions just like this one. And that is exactly what art is supposed to do.
Liz, a request. Please put Kandinski's (sp?) Concentric Circles or whatever the official title is back up. I love that piece...and I always enjoyed seeing it here one your page. : ) Thank you!
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