The answer to this demand is long sought out by people worldwide. However, it is not a simple task to carry out. To define art would destroy it. Art, as we well know, has many different subcategories, each of which survive in an individual state. In order for art to exist, there has to be a well rounded acceptance that there are no rules that apply. What many people fail to realize is that art comes in many different shapes and sizes, and every aspect of the subject is unique. Comparable to humans, art almost has it's own welcoming personality. It does not judge, rather waits for the open-minded to venture in and explore the depths which have been classified as "art".
What exactly makes something a candidate to be placed in the same category as art?
Freedom of expression plays a major role in this placement. Not only should it be widely accepted in communities, but the creator, of whatever the art may be, must feel that they are able to express themselves freely. Not only that, but one should be able to take criticism in all of its forms and use it to their advantage.
Creativity, when viewed from the "outer circle", is something that only talented people possess. But whether those people want to hear it or not, we all have talents; some of us just haven't grasped how to utilize them yet. When approaching art, you have to let go of the "inner and outer circle" mentality. Anyone is capable of art, whether it be writing, painting, or making music. As I stated before, there are many different subcategories listed under art.
Writing, for example, is an art form. Yet under this subcategory there are multiple types of writing. Poetry, short stories, novels (etc), and along with these different types of writing there are multiple genres, such as fiction, thriller, horror, science fiction, drama, non-fiction, and so on. Under each genre there are more categories, and under those are more genres. Compare it to a fractal. Everything has to start somewhere, but once motivation sets in, the possibilities of where it may go are endless.
This leads me to my next point. A positive mindset is vital for success in the art world (or anything, for that matter). I'm sure we've all heard the saying, "it takes more muscles to frown that to smile". Take that into consideration every time you are having doubts, because if you believe you can do something, you will have more fun during the process. Even if you fail at first, never just give up on your dreams, because with failure comes experience, and in the end, the journey will have made it all worth while.
I like your comments on the impossibility of defining art. What a fun discussion point! It seems critics and historians are always trying to define and classify art and creativity, but really they can't . Just when they think they've figured it out, it transforms into something completely new and runs off in a new direction.
ReplyDeleteI also like your comments on being positive. Sometimes that's the hardest part for artists.