Anti-art rant - Page 2

**Ilara** · 10-17-2010, 07:46 AM

To say that because art is not necessarily concrete and 'real-world' and therefore without value is to imply that humanity is purely concrete and 'real-world'. There are many aspects of human nature that are not concrete, and it is often to these aspects that art speaks.

That they are not tangible doesn't mean all that much. The Pythagorean theorem isn't tangible, either, but I suspect that you would acknowledge that it has value.

Your criteria are flawed because you assume that the intangible part of human existence drives no change, innovation, etc, when in fact it appears to drive everything about our existences, from our inclinations and intentions to our greatest ideas.

Also, enjoyment is value enough for me. I don't see why I should find more value in my life if I were trying to find a GUT or sitting at my desk writing. I am theoretically capable of either, but I would enjoy the writing more. Both of them are ultimately intangible things; how my writing or how my research could affect other people's lives will be largely intangible, anyway. How they affect me will also be intangible. So what?

**Yardy** · 10-21-2010, 09:05 PM

Originally Posted by Zsych
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Was just in another thread where someone mentioned art as one of the great forms of legacy you can leave behind *Now to voice an opinion likely to make me unpopular
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*

Lets imagine the Mona Lisa... despite the awesomeness people like to attribute to it, what do you really see in it? Any value or insight? Anything you can use? If someone hadn't been told it was awesome what would they normally think of it?
...

Da Vinci's understanding of human anatomy was amazing for his time and still beats a large portion of the lazy folks that call themselves artists today.

What I see in it is knowledge, of anatomy and light, applied and fanciful, and left to remind everyone else. This is intended to be a response to your post in general.

**Allie** · 10-21-2010, 11:11 PM

One thing about art that one can always count on: it is very personal, of and to the artist, in one form or another. One of the enduring legacy of the Mona Lisa, is the well known theory that it may be a likeness of da Vinci himself. Some way, somehow, they will embed a piece of themselves within their works.

A while back, I met one of the clients, of the company I work for. The building where he was at, was located in the old downtown area. He was quite fond of that building. It was one of the oldest buildings with intricate designs throughout the interior. He proudly gave us a tour of the place, pointing various quirks that gave it personality, things that he himself found, as well as known facts.

The tile designs and colors of the floors were superb. They were pieces of art. He told us of an intriguing tradition, that the tile installers had. They usually place a distinctive mark discreetly somewhere, that was a permanent symbol, recognizable only to themselves; it was a legacy of their craftsmanship within these vast constructions. He pointed out various pieces that were oddly, but quietly, out of place amongst the precise patterns and sequences: a piece with a totally different shade/color, a cracked/shaped piece, an initial here and a little signature there--all were small but significant in and of themselves.

It made me envision them as they worked. Why did they choose a certain marker? Did they come back and look for their personal signatures? Whatever those cases may be, seeing those individual marks were truly satisfying. The building may not belong to them, but they personally owned a piece of it, as permanently as the building continue to stand.

**Azmorgrim** · 10-28-2010, 01:57 AM

The beauty of art lies in what you can see and what you can't. The openness in the interpretation of each piece is a beauty in itself, for there is no right or wrong; only what everyone is able to make out out of it, be it intended by the artist or not.

Art is everywhere, from the design of buildings, to the landscaping of the lands around you and even to the placement and decoration of supermarket shelves as art meets psychology to unconsciously sway customers into buying more than what they needed. It is more practical than you think.

It is abstract art whose purpose and value is debatable, with the exception of the investment of highly sought after pieces. But man has always loved entertainment despite how seemingly unproductive it can be, and art is certainly a form of entertainment for those who are able to appreciate them.

Personally, I am not so great a fan of abstract art ever since a friend of mine spilled his paint on purpose all over a canvas and was lauded for his...creativity with colours.

**Danisty** · 10-28-2010, 02:22 AM

	Originally Posted by Zsych To view links or images in this forum your post count must be 2 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
	Well there's productive, and then there's not. There is creativity that builds new things and advances humanity's reach, and then there's all the creativity that doesn't really bring any kind of progress because its not anchored in the world.

Why must everything be productive or bring progress? As an artist, the idea of only creating for the purpose of advancement sounds like slavery to me. Why should I create for you? What makes you think art is ever created for the world anyway? Art is for the artist and everyone else just has the privilege of enjoying it.

**Angelos** · 10-29-2010, 01:35 PM

Art is beauty. I don't consider a lot of modern art to fill this simple, yet almost unreachable definition. Beauty is the first and foremost quality of art: Beauty born of good taste, skill and vision for it. It is one of those things that make us humans. Unfortunately, most of today's art is but generic copies or shallow trash made by completely average pretenders without skill trying to excuse their lack of capability with ridiculously unaccountable works they dare to call art. True art consists of masterpieces: The 1812 overture, the Pantheon, the David of Michelangelo.

10-17-2010, 07:46 AM	#26
Ilara Veteran Member [95%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Mar 2010 Posts: 3,835	To say that because art is not necessarily concrete and 'real-world' and therefore without value is to imply that humanity is purely concrete and 'real-world'. There are many aspects of human nature that are not concrete, and it is often to these aspects that art speaks. That they are not tangible doesn't mean all that much. The Pythagorean theorem isn't tangible, either, but I suspect that you would acknowledge that it has value. Your criteria are flawed because you assume that the intangible part of human existence drives no change, innovation, etc, when in fact it appears to drive everything about our existences, from our inclinations and intentions to our greatest ideas. Also, enjoyment is value enough for me. I don't see why I should find more value in my life if I were trying to find a GUT or sitting at my desk writing. I am theoretically capable of either, but I would enjoy the writing more. Both of them are ultimately intangible things; how my writing or how my research could affect other people's lives will be largely intangible, anyway. How they affect me will also be intangible. So what?
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10-21-2010, 11:11 PM	#28
Allie Veteran Member [54%] MBTI: INTJ Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 2,196	One thing about art that one can always count on: it is very personal, of and to the artist, in one form or another. One of the enduring legacy of the Mona Lisa, is the well known theory that it may be a likeness of da Vinci himself. Some way, somehow, they will embed a piece of themselves within their works. A while back, I met one of the clients, of the company I work for. The building where he was at, was located in the old downtown area. He was quite fond of that building. It was one of the oldest buildings with intricate designs throughout the interior. He proudly gave us a tour of the place, pointing various quirks that gave it personality, things that he himself found, as well as known facts. The tile designs and colors of the floors were superb. They were pieces of art. He told us of an intriguing tradition, that the tile installers had. They usually place a distinctive mark discreetly somewhere, that was a permanent symbol, recognizable only to themselves; it was a legacy of their craftsmanship within these vast constructions. He pointed out various pieces that were oddly, but quietly, out of place amongst the precise patterns and sequences: a piece with a totally different shade/color, a cracked/shaped piece, an initial here and a little signature there--all were small but significant in and of themselves. It made me envision them as they worked. Why did they choose a certain marker? Did they come back and look for their personal signatures? Whatever those cases may be, seeing those individual marks were truly satisfying. The building may not belong to them, but they personally owned a piece of it, as permanently as the building continue to stand.
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10-28-2010, 01:57 AM	#29
Azmorgrim Member [02%] MBTI: INTP Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 91	The beauty of art lies in what you can see and what you can't. The openness in the interpretation of each piece is a beauty in itself, for there is no right or wrong; only what everyone is able to make out out of it, be it intended by the artist or not. Art is everywhere, from the design of buildings, to the landscaping of the lands around you and even to the placement and decoration of supermarket shelves as art meets psychology to unconsciously sway customers into buying more than what they needed. It is more practical than you think. It is abstract art whose purpose and value is debatable, with the exception of the investment of highly sought after pieces. But man has always loved entertainment despite how seemingly unproductive it can be, and art is certainly a form of entertainment for those who are able to appreciate them. Personally, I am not so great a fan of abstract art ever since a friend of mine spilled his paint on purpose all over a canvas and was lauded for his...creativity with colours.
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10-29-2010, 01:35 PM	#31
Angelos Member [04%] MBTI: ENTJ Join Date: Oct 2010 Posts: 168	Art is beauty. I don't consider a lot of modern art to fill this simple, yet almost unreachable definition. Beauty is the first and foremost quality of art: Beauty born of good taste, skill and vision for it. It is one of those things that make us humans. Unfortunately, most of today's art is but generic copies or shallow trash made by completely average pretenders without skill trying to excuse their lack of capability with ridiculously unaccountable works they dare to call art. True art consists of masterpieces: The 1812 overture, the Pantheon, the David of Michelangelo.
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