Transcript File
• What is Art? • The definition of Art has always changed • In the Ancient World and Middle Ages the word we would translate as 'art' today was applied to any activity governed by rules. • Painting and sculpture were included among a number of human activities, such as shoemaking and weaving. • Art was characterized by philosopher, Aristotle as a kind of activity based on knowledge and governed by rules. A person became a painter or a sculptor, or a shoemaker, by learning the rules of the trade. During the Renaissance, the perception of art became much greater, and with it, a rise in the social status of the artist. The painter and the sculptor were now seen to be subject to inspiration and their work became equal with that of the poet and the musician. In the latter half of the 16th century the first academies of art were founded, first in Italy, then in France, and later elsewhere. Academies took on the task of educating the artist through a course of instruction that included such subjects as geometry and anatomy. Out of the academies emerged the term "Fine Arts" which held to a very narrow definition of what considered to be art. In the early 20th century all traditional notions of the identity of the artist and of art were thrown into disarray by an artist named… Marcel Duchamp. Duchamp began his career fairly traditionally. This is one of his earlier paintings. It is a very abstracted painting of a person descending a staircase. Later, Duchamp began creating what he called “Readymades” “Readymades” are also knows as found art, because they are made up of objects already in existence. This was his first “readymade” which he titled Bicycle Wheel. Some other “readymades” include a bottle drying rack and a snow shovel. • In 1917 Duchamp was a board member of the Society of Independent Artists. • For their 1917 art show, Duchamp entered one of his “readymades” as a test and a practical joke. • All artwork submitted was supposed to be in the show. Duchamp chose to enter a readymade urinal titled Fountain. He signed it and entered it under the name R. Mutt. What do you think happened? • During the show, Fountain was hidden from view. • They claimed it was “lost.” Duchamp mocked the Renaissance tradition which had placed the artist in an exalted authoritative position. He declared that anything the artist chooses is art. For the rest of the 20th century, this one piece of “art” has lead to a broader and more inclusive view of art. Below is a quote from an article about Fountain. “Whether Mr. Mutt made the fountain with his own hands or not has no importance. He CHOSE it. He took an article of life, placed it so that its useful significance disappeared under the new title and point of view – created a new thought for that object.” What do you think? Is this ART??? Without help from a dictionary or experts, in the end you will have to define what art is for yourself. In this way the definition of art really becomes relative to who you are and what you believe.