to whom it may concern
Hi,
I am a fine art student striving to know EVERYTHING about ART, from techniques and materials to concepts and themes, from artistic movements to artists of all time.
This very moment I find myself am stuck at the very definition of Art. Good start, right?
You might just say: “Art is Beauty”.
Now… What’s Beauty? Hmm.
“Life is Beauty”. Then Art equals Life.
Ha ha! Nice try. Nope, it’s not that easy. This might help you sleep at night, but this is not how I see it. I am still trying to put in words this mystical ether(masochism?!)
Looking at the great masters one can only be kneeled by the striking perfection of every strain. That feeling-well that is Art! You might ask me who the great masters are. I would shout out loud Cezanne, Pissarro, Grigorescu, Rembrandt,Baba, Brancusi, Michelangelo, Rodin,Munch,Vermeer, Bosch,Turner,Degas, Durer, Kahlo. Then after a moment I would remember another couple of names. Probably you would ask: “but what about Dali? Or Picasso? Or Van Gogh? What about contemporary artists?”. Silence.
Then you might ask me: “OK... Let's take it another way: what is NOT Art?”. Long silence. I have recently read a very suggestive quotation by Rudyard Kipling: “The Devil whispered behind the leaves: “It’s pretty, but is it Art?” ”.
Art is subjective. So far my definition of Art is profoundly personal and is constantly changing. The more I see and read the more ample my definition gets and the more I understand I know nothing.
And I haven’t even make it to “what makes an artist an artist?” “What is a genius?” “What sublime means?” yet!
I grabble in darkness. Every now and then a thunderbolt lights up the road, or the crossroad.
I hereby assure that I shall record and share each of those moments of enlightenment (no matter how fragile) to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Ioana
I am a fine art student striving to know EVERYTHING about ART, from techniques and materials to concepts and themes, from artistic movements to artists of all time.
This very moment I find myself am stuck at the very definition of Art. Good start, right?
You might just say: “Art is Beauty”.
Now… What’s Beauty? Hmm.
“Life is Beauty”. Then Art equals Life.
Ha ha! Nice try. Nope, it’s not that easy. This might help you sleep at night, but this is not how I see it. I am still trying to put in words this mystical ether(masochism?!)
Looking at the great masters one can only be kneeled by the striking perfection of every strain. That feeling-well that is Art! You might ask me who the great masters are. I would shout out loud Cezanne, Pissarro, Grigorescu, Rembrandt,Baba, Brancusi, Michelangelo, Rodin,Munch,Vermeer, Bosch,Turner,Degas, Durer, Kahlo. Then after a moment I would remember another couple of names. Probably you would ask: “but what about Dali? Or Picasso? Or Van Gogh? What about contemporary artists?”. Silence.
Then you might ask me: “OK... Let's take it another way: what is NOT Art?”. Long silence. I have recently read a very suggestive quotation by Rudyard Kipling: “The Devil whispered behind the leaves: “It’s pretty, but is it Art?” ”.
Art is subjective. So far my definition of Art is profoundly personal and is constantly changing. The more I see and read the more ample my definition gets and the more I understand I know nothing.
And I haven’t even make it to “what makes an artist an artist?” “What is a genius?” “What sublime means?” yet!
I grabble in darkness. Every now and then a thunderbolt lights up the road, or the crossroad.
I hereby assure that I shall record and share each of those moments of enlightenment (no matter how fragile) to the best of my knowledge and belief.
Ioana