Often, I find myself having the same argument over and over again in my head. What is art? Is modern, unconventional art really art just because it is the “artists” way of expressing themselves. When I went to the galleries I kept questioning the legitimacy of certain works. I especially remember a work of art in the MOMA which was just a rainbow vacuum cleaner. But I guess at the end of the day I’m not really one to judge what art is and what it isn’t. What do you guys think?
The Arts in NYC with Professor Judell
Professor Judell | CCNY | Fall 2012
I think you’re making a valid point. I hear a lot of people make the same argument with technology. I remember when Instagram first became famous, a lot of my friends made arguments like “I could have thought of that, this is such bullshit.” But I mean, in reality, there’s a lot more to art than just thinking of the concept. Being artistic is a gift, and there’s a whole lot more to art than just coming up with the idea.
Yeah people tend to do that a lot. I was talking to this guy recently who told me that he could have came up with the Newton’s Laws before Newton if he had existed at the time. But it’s clear that Newton had to go through a lot to make these laws and it took genius. One can argue that F=ma, a simple expression, was easy to discover but they weren’t there at the time to see how it was done.
Many people today feel that modern art is not “worthy” of respect or attention when compared to art work from earlier time periods. For instance, people revere Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” as a classical piece of art, but may look at a modern piece of art and think that it is not as substantial as Van Gogh’s works. Why is that? Perhaps people feel this way because they may be more difficult for them to replicate Van Gogh’s works than modern art pieces. However, I believe that art is art.
My mom is an artist and she always says for modern art, it’s the idea that counts. Many times I’ve found pieces of modern art to be so simple that I would react, ” I could do this!” but after I learned the story behind the artwork and what it’s supposed to symbolize, it becomes so much more meaningful. For example, remember the pile of twisted iron rods we saw in the first gallery we went to. I thought it looked like iron spaghetti noodles. But then I learned that it was actually made to portray the rubble left after a whole Chinese village was decimated by an earthquake (the date of which is still remembered by the Chinese as we remember 9/11). Knowing this, the exhibit was moving and powerful. So for modern art it’s what behind the idea that counts. You can have a really beautiful Renaissance painting but without the idea and the story behind the idea, it’s only paint on paper.
The idea of art has most definitely changed over the years. It has a lot to do with how the world has become and especially with the globalization of everything, one sees cultural influences creating something called “Modern Art”. I feel art does not always have to be a complex. In fact I feel modern art is a better way of expressing one’s self than the traditional pieces. It allows more freedom and it is after all what the artist feels
When it comes to modern art, I have mixed feelings towards it. There are times, like Matias said, where the art piece can be very simple but have a strong meaning behind it. There are also times where the artwork is simple and yet not show any significant meaning (at least to me).Take for example the gallery we went too with the pictures of the lady in a bikini. Maybe it takes some skill to get a picture like that, but I found the idea to be really simple. I guess it has to do with how the definition of art is becoming more broader as time passes.
I completely agree with mostly everyone here (=D). I mean, personally speaking, I do have ambivalent feelings toward art in general. However, I tend to feel that as the modern age unravels, the majority of the themes/ideas that go into it changes. For example, pictures of just plain, simple words just like this one can look or might be looked down upon to people, say, in the late 18th to 19th century. Therefore, one’s perception is influenced not just by the artwork itself but also by the time period also (just as Mohammed stated with the gallery of women in bikinis compared to Teresa’s example of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”.) Overall, the ideas of art is a continual changing process!