What's your definition of art?

“Art is a lie that tells the truth.” - Pablo Picasso

That quote summarizes my belief concerning what art is. I believe genuine art is bashed all the time because people believe it doesn't come in the 'right' form. For instance, I gave examples of what I consider to be great art in the original post of the following thread.

Why do women revel in their power over men?

Because the examples were pop music, some posters replied that the songs had no value in terms of describing reality simply because they're pop music.

"Some people can read War and Peace and come away thinking it’s a simple adventure story. Others can read the ingredients on a chewing gum wrapper and unlock the secrets of the universe." - Lex Luthor (from Superman (1978 film))

I'm quoting Lex Luthor to annoy the "It's just a movie" crowd. They bother me so much I devoted a whole thread to them.

"It's just a movie."

The bottom line is, it doesn't matter where truth comes from, truth always has the same value.

“Art is a lie that tells the truth.” - Pablo Picasso

If you see a lie that helps you to understand the truth, you are looking at art IMHO. I'm of the opinion that it doesn't matter if it's a movie, a comic book, a pop song, or a bubble gum wrapper.

I realize there is validity to the idea that the medium is the message. I just think that's only the case for people who aren't analyzing what they're seeing. "The medium is the message" represents the most superficial way of looking at information.

For those of us who want to understand the truth, I believe the medium that a message is conveyed in should be irrelevant.

a reply to: Profusion

I completely believe that the question "What is Art?" is purely personal.

Take things like the THESE. Some would say "What a bloody mess!" and others would say "Wow! I REALLY LIKE THAT!". Who's to say who is correct?

a reply to: Profusion

Beautiful

Well I have always believed that art is an expression. It's the expression of emotion, perspective and knowledge.
Good art should inform you how the artist felt, what the artists was thinking (or wasn't thinking) and the message the artist wishes to convey.

All that being said, art is relative.. So everything is art, and nothing is art, it's all in the mind of the beholder.
I know good art when I see it, but that's good art TO ME, everyone's taste is different.
It's all just a stamp of the soul, etched/recorded to survive for a while.

a reply to: Profusion

Art to me is anything someone finds creative that needs no explanation.

Art is a process. The sculptures, paintings, performances, songs or whatever are just the outcome of said process but are not the art itself.

IMHO

a reply to: Profusion

That's an interesting idea, but I think any discussion that seeks to define art must take artistic inspiration into account.

One can simultaneously be an accomplished painter and an uninspired artist. My grandma was a painter. She painted rural settings. I imagine the most accurate comparison would be something you'd see at a dentists office. She could paint well enough, but there wasn't any fire, no conflicting concepts. No surprises. Yet, painting is a type of art. No question about it. So it's art that is a lie which is telling a boring truth. (Not to badmouth my grandmother, you see.)

Hit songs are (or have been) written to order for such and such market by crack songwriting/production teams. It's art that tells lies which in turn sell either a repugnant truth or beautiful lies. Yet, music is a type of art, right?

Should we take for granted that some types of what are considered to be "art" in the grossly generalized, perhaps mainstream sense, are automatically excluded? I guess we end up shrugging our shoulders after not too long, because a lot of this hinges in whether or not you believe that spiritual, deep truth is universal or not. I have some doubt that it is.

Nice thread, looking forward to reading more thoughts on the matter.

a reply to: Dumbass

That's an interesting thought. You could compare art to science in this regard: they are both methods of inquiry in pursuit of truth of some sort.

a reply to: Profusion

I believe;

Art in its aesthetic form gives you endless of possibilities, no rules and no boundaries..

Art in it its true form follows universal rules already governed by nature..

If you want to see the real truth behind the curtains, learn art and you will see the lies that is hidden..

a reply to: TerryDon79

I completely believe that the question "What is Art?" is purely personal.

In this day and age, i would say its people who wants to be artists but lacks the knowledge for it.

Art is an expression of life,,we all have one just different views/values on what we see/acknowledge when we look at a peace of art.

True artist's use emotion to develop/create it,,life is a peace of art, as in it holds value but how much value does one hold on life??

Sorry if i went off topic.

a reply to: DarkvsLight29

Is not true art to transcend something that is real into perfection? In the universe you have rules and boundaries, something we all can observe, or do you believe true art is anyone with an imagination and a brush?

originally posted by: tikbalang
a reply to: DarkvsLight29

Is not true art to transcend something that is real into perfection? In the universe you have rules and boundaries, something we all can observe, or do you believe true art is anyone with an imagination and a brush?

True,,Art does/can transcend into anything, an artist always wants to perfect his/her drawing or any art that their making and sometimes it's not good enough but have to stop before disasters happen.

As you know art can be anything the imagination musters up, anyone with an imagination can paint or draw but not everyone can take that imagination and make it perfect,,same as life,, were not perfect but out of our imagination let's us evolve with today's technology and innovation/everything we see around us is a real imitation of life we developed around us...If that makes sense?

a reply to: DarkvsLight29

I understand what you are saying, im just trying to "keep it real"..From my pow, i did study art, its part of my education.. And the universities before had an entry exam and it was ;" Know art " and those who just painted something from their own imagination.. They didnt make it..

originally posted by: tikbalang
a reply to: DarkvsLight29

I understand what you are saying, im just trying to "keep it real"..From my pow, i did study art, its part of my education.. And the universities before had an entry exam and it was ;" Know art " and those who just painted something from their own imagination.. They didnt make it..

I agree with that, you can't just paint anything your mind makes up,,well you can, but in the real world it takes certain art/imagination to make the grade.

a reply to: DarkvsLight29

but in the real world it takes certain art/imagination to make the grade.

To be a great artist or a "divine" artist, you have to be a scholar. Painting is an art-form by itself.. But its like having a hammer and a nail and no house to build..
Our imagination is the few things, which is truly remarkable as long as our stomach is full..

Descarte once said; Ill rephrase it a bit to simplify it..

" God exist in our imagination, he is perfect and that is what we are trying to achieve each and everyday "

Even though he was lying in a bathtub and high as a kite while imagining about it. You need a painter to achieve a divine creation of our imagination, but only a painter with divine knowledge will show us the real world..

originally posted by: tikbalang
a reply to: DarkvsLight29

but in the real world it takes certain art/imagination to make the grade.

To be a great artist or a "divine" artist, you have to be a scholar. Painting is an art-form by itself.. But its like having a hammer and a nail and no house to build..
Our imagination is the few things, which is truly remarkable as long as our stomach is full..

Descarte once said; Ill rephrase it a bit to simplify it..

" God exist in our imagination, he is perfect and that is what we are trying to achieve each and everyday "

Even though he was lying in a bathtub and high as a kite while imagining about it. You need a painter to achieve a divine creation of our imagination, but only a painter with divine knowledge will show us the real world..

Again agree.

originally posted by: Profusion
What's your definition of art?

'Art', like 'beauty' exists in the eye of the beholder!
My definition of art is that it is whatever you imagine it to be, and more!
Just like 'music'.
One man's noise is another's symphony!
To some, every audible perceivable sound is 'music'.
For another, the same with 'art'!
As soon as you add an 'exclusion', the definition will fail, ultimately, as there are no 'exclusions' to One Universal Reality!

"We do not see the world as it is, we see it as we are!"

Every Perspective is unique, by definition/nature.

"For every Perspective, there is an equal and opposite Perspective!" - The First Law of Soul Dynamics (Book of Fudd)

"The complete Universe (Reality/Truth/God/'Self!'/Tao/Brahman... or any feature herein, like 'art'...) can be completely defined/described as the synchronous sum-total of all Perspectives!" - Book of Fudd
ALL INCLUSIVE!!!

tat tvam asi (en.wikipedia.org...)

a reply to: namelesss

Ever learned how universal laws works on the planet earth, they are awesome.. ? First time humanity came across universal laws in art were in Egypt.. But cave paintings are probably master pieces?

It's a shared hallucination that conveys an image, a feeling or idea.

Great art speaks from the artist's psyche straight to the viewers, listeners or whatever.

Think of any great painting, it's just lines on a flat medium, yet often has depth to it, that's the first trick, next comes the composition itself, the way the scene opens up before your very eyes.
It could be The fighting Temeraire by Turner, showing the grand old lady, the heroine of Trafalgar being towed to the breaker's yard by the upstart little steam tug....How many things can you get from just that painting? The march of technology making even the greatest of us fade into obsolescence...The sadness of witnessing the end of life approaching...It goes on, and one other thing about Turner, he played so much with light in his paintings that even though they are just paint on board or canvas or something, looking towards the sun can make your eyes react as though it were the real sun...How amazing is that?

Guernica, By Picasso. You can almost hear the bombs falling, feel them exploding as you look at the jagged lines and harsh edges, smell the fear in those stark expressions and gestures.

Don't even get me started on music, poetry sculpture etc...There's just so much in there. It would be a life's work trying to categorize it all.