Is It The Whole Picture Or Just The Form Alone That Makes Art What It Is?

Your Name

Instructor Name

Course Number

Date

Is it the whole picture or just the form alone that makes art what it is?

Manifestations of art or simply making works of art, in its broadest sense, has been a need of mankind since ancient times. Humans have been involved in some unceasing efforts to recreate nature’s beauty and for this purpose, people tend to draw, dance, write, capture photos, make movies, etc. Some strains of philosophy also maintain that art is a form of communication and for a significant chunk of people, art has a very special place in their lives.

According to me, art is simply the fragmentation of an individual’s thoughts and feelings. There are many elements about a thing, a picture, a thought, an object that can help us classify it as art and in this paper, I’ll be revolving my basic premise around it.

Why do I think what art does for me?

What makes something ‘art’? Or, how does it become ‘art’? CITATION Cra13 \l 1033 (Titus)

There is a vast spectrum of human activities that can be classified as art. Each one of these acts or activities is specific to the performer’s techniques and inherent skills but there are some features common in every manifestation of art.

Art assists in expressing one’s imagination. Even though every piece of art has a lot of room for interpretation, an artist has the liberty to pre-determine the meanings of artwork. If we look through a micro-lens, art supports a smooth communication between the artist and the audience or between any two people who are exchanging pieces of art between them. If a person writes a poem and presents it to his or her partner, the underlying motivation behind this action is the communication of heartfelt feelings.

There are seven basic and essential elements of art and form is one of them. The form can mean different things for different people, but primarily it indicates the physical aspects and nature of an artwork. The two major types of form are geometric and organic. However, the meaning of this element goes beyond superficial implications.

This paper, at its core, asks that is it the whole picture or just the form alone which classifies something as art? If we are taking the example of a visual illustration, one can identify a picture as art if it tends to communicate with the viewer but the element of form cannot be ignored in most of the cases. One has to conduct a formal analysis and then, it can easily be determined whether a picture is a piece of art or not.

In the lecture video, there is a mention of the Mona Lisa painting. Let’s take it as an example. Mona Lisa is regarded as a masterpiece of the Renaissance period because it played a central role in exuding feelings of mystery and wonder in people and communicated with them in ways that could not be imagined before. This painting is a topic of controversy even today and rightly so because the artist used the element of the form in such a way that lent a timeless character to the painting. The form can be thought about in a lot of ways, for instance, it can take up an implied meaning or a real meaning. If an artist creates a balance or intensifies either the highlights or shadows of a picture, the form is accentuated. Some artists who incorporate philosophical elements in their works also opine that art is what you see until you see that it is not that anymore. The intended audience or the viewer can pinpoint what classifies as art for them but in a lot of cases, artists create or treat the form of a picture in the pursuit of modifying natural appearances which can convey a profound sensitivity to the work of art.

Works Cited

BIBLIOGRAPHY The Philosophy of Art. Perf. Craig Titus. 2013. YouTube.