Luke Drooger

Mr. Gaudian
Art 101
10/26/15
What is art? Art can be many different things, from paintings to drawings to sculptures,
they are all different forms of art. In my opinion, even buildings are a type of art. For example,
Target Field, it took many months drawing and maybe even sculpting out models of what they
want the stadium to look like, so I would consider it to be art.
According to a dictionary from the 1300s, art is the illustration of creative talents and
imagination and primarily in a visual form that produces works to be appreciated because of their
beauty. Some people say art can only be in an art museum or in a gallery, but one famous artist
begs to differ. When asked the question What is art? Georgia OKeefe, an American painter,
replied saying, Filling a space in a beautiful way. Thats what art means to me. Although, that
was just one famous artists opinion. Another response of the question came from a who died in
2007, named Sol LeWitt. Sol had a longer response, saying, Ideas alone can be works of art, all
ideas need not be made physical, a work of art may be understood as a conductor from the
artists mind to the viewers. But it may never reach the viewer, or it may never leave the artists
mind. (Herman 1).
Now that Ive gone over what I and the expert artists consider to be art, its time to define
what is not art. Some people say that anything can be art if its creator wants it to be, but I
disagree. For example, a piece of framed notebook paper should not be considered art just
because its creator says it is. Another example would be if somebody considers something of
their own to be art, but nobody else does, wouldnt that mean it is not really art (Lickteig 1)?

There can also be two types of art: good art and bad art. Good art requires a lot of
technical skill. The piece should be quite accurate and well-executed in terms of technique. A lot
of premature art falls apart quickly because the artists fails to use sufficient techniques. In some
instances, the paint is not mixed correctly, so it cascades off the canvas or in other cases a
sculpture is not well constructed so it falls apart. This happened with Leonardo da Vincis Last
Supper fresco. He used an untried technique for mixing the coloring and plaster. It began
crumbling almost instantaneously. Even though it was already needing repair at the time of his
death, its still one of his chefs-d'oeuvre and an icon of the Italian Renaissance.
Art must also have good composition to be considered suitable art. Line, shape, texture,
value, and color all different types of composition that must be utilized in art for it to be
satisfactory. Another way to gauge artwork is to glance at how the proper elements cooperate
with each other. Is the art poorly combined? Do elements hardly touch each other in unusual
lines that make it hard to look at? Occasionally this is fixed on purpose, just like some songs
purposely have disharmony and irritating contrasts to generate a certain attitude or make a
statement. Most individuals discover a lot of magnificence and pleasure in pleasant
compositions, so in most peoples eyes that is artistic success (Blackman 1).
Now that I have stated what not only I, but professional artists consider to be art, I can go
over whether or not what we saw in the video should be considered art. Even though Terry paid
people to make his art, I would still consider it to be art. Also, based on the research I did for
this paper, it should be considered art if its well-executed in technique and has good
composition, which the structures in the video had. Lastly, the creations should be considered art
by more than just the creator, which was obviously true within the video. Im pretty sure almost
everybody considered it to be art since so many people showed up to check it out.

Works Cited
Blackmon, Brad. HOW CAN YOU TELL IF ART IS GOOD OR BAD?. N.p., 9 May 2013. Web.
24 Oct. 2015.
Herman, Judith B. 27 Responses to the Question What is Art?. N.p., 27 June 2014. Web. 24
Oct. 2015.
Lickteig, Mike. What is Art? What is Not Art?. N.p., 7 Feb. 2011. Web. 24 Oct. 2015.