What is Art Raaaport.

James Eshleman

Visual Lit.

September 12, 2011

What is Art?

Art is subjective and comes from the imagination of the individual creating the piece whatever it may be. There is no definition for art due to its vast capabilities and views. Art can be anything that sparks interest and inspires a reaction that furthers a person’s understanding of what the creator was trying to convey. It can bring about emotions that could remind the viewer of a childhood experience like a recurring nightmare or of something that once inspired you to do great things. I see art in architecture, any type of photography, painting, clothing, and the way someone carries themselves. Like beauty, art is in the eye of its beholder and is therefore not universal which is why there are so many different forms. Some people can see the work but not the underlying emotion that is to be exhumed and this is where differing opinions begin but to be successful at creating or arguing a piece of work one must find the trigger that will make the opposition feel the emotion to see the piece through their own eyes and understand what the creator was trying to accomplish while connecting it to their own lives.

One of my favorite movies is American Gangster because of the great acting, underlying business themes, and life lessons however my grandma would find that movie offensive and extreme due to the excessive drug abuse and murder that occurs both in cold blood and overdoses from heroin. I would point at the story of Richie Roberts, the policeman that eventually brings down Frank Lucas the drug kingpin and Richie’s growth as a person both intellectually and emotionally because I know my grandma has a soft spot for human betterment. She will begin to appreciate the story more and more creating her own point of view that is unique to her but follows the overall concept of the story.

Now, my dad is a hardcore Elvis fan and some say that Elvis was the father of rap music due to his suggestive lyrics and whatnot but for the most part we can say that generation has a fairly large disgust for rap music and what it stands for. Sure the lyrics get a bit out of hand and portray women as possessions and not human beings but to be fair, some of the beats involved in rap songs show great creativity whether or not the sound was artificially manufactured. These beats can be soothing to the individual’s idea of art, which was the case with my dad and his appreciation for DJ Khaled’s song “We Taking Over”. A rather “hood” song that would typically scare white suburban men was the only rap song on his iPod but he found it amusing after my brother and I had introduced him to listen to of which he was skeptical of it because it was on the wrong radio station. This sensation created enough enjoyment for him to consider it art however there are many other sensations that do not belong in the category of art no matter how beautiful and majestic such as the sight of the Grand Canyon. It may do all of the things art does but it occurred naturally in nature and therefore I would not consider it art. Now some may say it is God’s art but I am an Agnostic and this is my opinion.