What Is Art? Essay, Research Paper

What is Art?

What a question! This very same topic has been on the minds of many great people for many years. Just what exactly is art? Art is a form of expression. It is beautiful, ugly, tasteful, distasteful, impressionistic, realistic…you get the point. Art is everywhere. It lives in the soul, mind, and even the heart. Art is an outlet for people to express themselves.

Art is a way for the human mind to express itself. Even a loud, outgoing person has feelings that they do not feel comfortable sharing with people. These expressions often come out through their art. What is classified as art? Besides the obvious…paintings, drawings, architecture, etc…Art can be dancing, singing, acting, etc. It can be pretty much anything that expresses an idea. Even something as common as speech is art. Everyone speaks with a different voice, and each voice is a piece of art.

Art surrounds us. It is encountered so often that often we don’t realize art when we see it. All too often we ignore art. We overlook the ideas and thoughts behind it. Anyone can look at a painting and say “Wow! That’s beautiful!” How many of us can actually stop and say “Wow! Now I understand!” Art is around to teach us. We can learn so much about ourselves and the world around us. Many times we create art without a conscious reason. We believe that we are just making a pretty picture. Usually we are expressing a subconscious idea. If take the time to actually analyze and critique our artwork we could possibly find out something about ourselves.

Often, we use art to express some repressed feelings. Everyone has some feeling or thought that they wish to express but they are afraid. Art is seen as a window of opportunity for these people. They can express what has been on their mind without the worry of embarrassment. Even if a person does confront them about the meaning of the art, they can create a fictional story if they are still afraid. Even people who have feelings that are not repressed use art to express themselves. These people may be using it to sort their thoughts. Some people learn better visually than audibly. For these people, creating art will help their ideas become clearer because they can visually see something.

Art is a very important part of modern and historical society. Without art we would not know as much about our history as we do. The surviving architecture, paintings, sculptures, etc. teach us about our past. It is from our past that we decide to change our future. Besides being of historical importance, art also has a modern impact on society. In today’s society people are very worried about reputation. Art allows a person to express a less accepted idea without being punished socially. Art relieves a lot of tension in the world. It is a way for people to express their anger and other emotions. It is an outlet for emotions. It is based around an idea. All art has an idea behind it, but not all ideas are put into art.