What is Art - Discussion - Assignment Example

number 02 April What Is Art? In this short essay I will consider whether some objects are art from my standpoint of view and try to briefly explain why I think so. Toaster might be a work of art if it is a part of a certain context that sends a special message to an auditorium according to the conception of an artist. Toaster itself, as the one we can see at the first image, is not a work of art, in my opinion, because it is obviously designed to serve practical purposes only. If the toaster had contained any images painted on its surface, for instance, it could have been perceived as a work of art.

The point is one might as well consider certain object to be art, while others wont. The abstract painting at the second image depicts African dancers with a drum and evokes esthetic pleasure. It makes me guess what culture it came from, what message the artist implied when he was painting it. It is a thought-provoking object that has no practical function and is created for the sake of self-expression of the artist who had made it. It gives rise to a train of thoughts on primitive African societies when I am looking at it.

It might as well have been made by an African artist, though it is not a case. It is surely a work of art, in my opinion. There is probably a toy at the third image with a metal ball inside. It might be perceived as a work of art from some subjective point of view, though in my opinion it is made strictly for the purpose of entertainment of children and is not a work of art per se. Although there is a specific and quite precise definition of what art is, this notion extends into a subjective category and it is not an easy task to circumscribe the limits of it.

Thus, in my opinion, this toy is not a work of art. On the other hand, it might as well be an allegorical manifestation of the way someone who created it looks at the world and, if placed within a certain context, could be perceived as a work of art. The blue plate on the fourth image might be a work of art for some people, while others wont consider it to be as such. Although it is created with a certain practical purpose to serve, it obviously applies imaginative skills of a person who made it.

The surface of it is painted inside and these elements of its design make this object of pottery a work of art, in my opinion, though it might as well be solely perceived by some as a part of dinnerware and serve practical purposes only.