The first thing I think about when I hear the word ‘art’ is a painting. A piece that was created with the purpose of inspiring or educating or expressing something. Therefore, I find that a very good basis of art is a purpose; I dare even say, has a reason to exist. Under that umbrella term, a lot of things have purpose, even people have purpose, so what exactly makes a painting art, and not, say, a bag of garbage?
The first photo here, is not art. It is a floor inside of a Starbucks. While it has a purpose (a place to walk on and a decoration to the coffee shop), it is not art. I don’t believe it can be considered art at all because it isn’t going to invoke any feelings from anyone that comes upon it. Therefore, I think the emotional response that a person gets from a piece says a lot about it’s value. We don’t find a floor necessarily pretty, a lot of people have honestly never even noticed it. This lack of recognition makes me also believe that art forces recognition. Something that is art is likely not to be ignored. It demands to be seen.
This photo, I believe could be art. Under the ideas I had that art should be, this seems to satisfy those “requirements”. The highway sign serves a purpose, as does the highway itself that exists in the background. Drivers use the sign for direction and the highway to travel on a daily basis. There’s a clear and definite reason for the sign and the highway to exist, as well as the fact that by nature, it demands to be looked at. The roar of the cars moving on the highway and the words on the sign make the entire thing impossible to ignore. However, is it art? It could be. However, what real meaning is there? One could argue that the meaning exists to serve the people of Staten Island, but how meaningful is industrialization? There’s no compassion that exists in the highway, or feelings. Even if it has a function, I don’t know if I can consider this art without there being a feeling behind it. Therefore, I believe once again that art must have feeling attached to it – the creator’s feelings and the viewer’s feelings.
This image is art to me, and everyone in my community. When I was in middle school, my small neighborhood was about to get a new store, a Walgreens, which was very unusual because a lot of the stores in my community were all local, small businesses. The response, by everyone, was outrage. Suddenly, there were posters put up everywhere in this exact same format stating “NO WALGREEDS – ROSEBANK UNITED”. While the posters didn’t stop the Walgreens from being built (yet now out of business), they did rally my community and throughout the several years of the Walgreens existing, none of the local small pharmacies in my neighborhood shut down. This poster is art because it served a purpose; thanking the community for supporting Rosebank Pharmacy and all the other small businesses in times of need. It also demands attention; not only do words serve the function of demanding to be read, the poster itself is in the middle of one of the busiest streets, out in the open for all the see. The poster also expresses emotion. The emotions of the creators; anger and outrage, melted into gratefulness and glee. As well as the viewers, feeling pride and happiness in our combined achievements.
So what is art? Art seems to need a purpose, and a desire to be seen. I cannot currently imagine any art that has sat idly by and simply waited to be discovered. Art needs to be seen. Finally, art must express emotion. These emotions can be anything from regret, love, hatred, sympathy, etc. Art simply exists, and is appreciated in some form, by someone.
I really like your connection between art and the community uniting. I think that it is amazing that your community promotes small businesses, as my father owns a family-owned pizzeria in Yonkers. I agree that for something to be art, it needs to be appreciated. Cool pictures and formatting too!
I used a street sign in my blog post, but I actually disagreed and decided that it isn’t art. Although it does have a purpose, like you’ve said, I don’t think its supposed to or does evoke any emotion in a viewer. When I look at a street or highway sign, the color combination nor the message effect me in any way.
Being from Staten Island myself, I found the story of the third picture very powerful. Even if I myself was not a part of the Rosebank story, it still evoked an insane amount of emotion within me. Since I felt so powerfully about the third picture, I completely agree with you on why it is art. As for the second picture, I think the photo can be considered art if you wanted it to be. The highway does signify a deeper, more intimate feeling. Not everyone who comes across the photo will feel this way though. Some may just see a highway and nothing more. In general, this was a very well written blog post and your interpretation of art was one I definitely agree with.
In regard to your second photograph, I do not believe that it is art. I understand that it demands to be seen, because it is a traffic sign, but the reason why people look at it is because they need to know which way to go. I do not think people stop and admire the sign because of its colors or meaning. In fact, I do not believe that it has any artistic meaning to it at all. It does not evoke any emotion and has no feeling behind it.
I appreciate the thought you put into your definition of art and think it really captures the meaning.
The story you tell in the third photo of the “Rosebank United” poster really does show the real message of art and shows so much significance and such a beautiful story. I totally agree with the photo of the highway sign because as you said, it does show a purpose but there are no real feelings or compassions. It’s more like just a sign and to me, that’s not really art but I liked the way you argued that it might just be art.