Art for the Sake of Art

ART- noun:
1. Human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature.
2. The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium.
3. The study of these activities.
4. The product of these activities; human works of beauty considered as a group.
5. High quality of conception or execution, as found in works of beauty; aesthetic value.

The Free Dictionary
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/art


"The definition of art is controversial in contemporary philosophy. Whether art can be defined has also been a matter of controversy. The philosophical usefulness of a definition of art has also been debated."

Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/art-definition/

"Definition of Art: Any human creation which contains an idea other than its utilitarian purpose."

Shah Jahan
http://www.shah.it/define.htm

What is art? Why do we do it? What is its purpose? And, more to the point, why am I even asking? Many people have asked this question, from the loftiest philosopher to the guy next to you in the art gallery as he squints at a weird abstract painting that he says looks like something his kid made in nursery school. It's a nebulous question with an equally nebulous answer that varies from person to person. It really is in the eye of the beholder. So why define it? Why, indeed...

For me, the best place to start is with my own experience as an artist. I love to create. I have loved it since I was given my first box of Crayons (I still love those uber-boxes with a ba-zillion colors). Over the years, I have experimented with many different mediums: ink, pencil, watercolor and acrylic paint, Sculpy, metal, paper, photography, digital...all in the name of trying to find what makes me feel the most fulfilled. As a result, I have decided that creating art, in my case, is mostly masturbatory. And I don't mean that I have an art fetish. Creating art just feels good. To put your sweat and soul and love into a piece of work is extremely satisfying. Being able say "Damn, that's awesome!" and hearing other people echo the sentiment is one of the biggest ego-strokes you can get. It's part of YOU. It is YOU, in a matter of speaking. And guess what? You're awesome! Now doesn't that feel good?

Yet, it's not only the end product that defines art. Art is a journey, even if you don't intend it. A blank canvas (be it an actual canvas, digital project, hunk of clay or sheet of typing paper) is a possibility. Anything can happen. You may have a crisp vision in your mind of how you want your art to turn out. And half the time, it morphs into something completely different. During the act of creation, things happen, evolve and change. You explore the way the words and colors and shapes make you feel and they are expressed through the medium. Deviation, in this case, is encouraged. Some writers may start with a clear outline of their story and stick to it scene for scene. Others find that the characters they create evolve on their own, thus changing the storyline into something new. Either way, the journey from Point A to Point B isn't a ride through flatlands in a Buick. It's a journey by land, sea and air through your own perceptions and emotions. That's why Art Therapy is becoming a very viable and respected technique. It enables you to explore YOU.

In my opinion, the art you create is a facet of yourself. Even Gropius is an expression of me and my avatar. The Bauhaus style is clean and simple and elegant. It expresses order and calm, and it makes me feel centered. When I create a Bauhaus piece, I keep these ideals in mind in the hopes that it will be expressed through my work. Often, Bauhaus is defined as "art without soul". My goal is to give it some of the soul it lacks. Whether I succeed is up to the beholder, of course. But art is always up for experimentation and interpretation. Even if it is just a black leather chair, you can still make it look cool and sexy.

In Second Life, art is everywhere. From the smallest prim flower to the most grandiose castle, everything is an expression of its creator. There aren't any hacks or posers. There are only levels of experience and refinement. Even SL photography is an art form, as it takes as much of a talented eye to be a photographer in the real world as it does in the virtual world. It's all about what we see, feel and experience. So I think I have a new definition for art: art is an expression of the self.

Put that on your paintbrush and paint it.

Expressively,

Synn