Art?

So, what is art? who determines what art is? is it all based on individual opinion? I came across this while I was shopping the other day, and if you notice the sign says "The Graphic Tee. This is Art. Wear it." This store is claiming that their graphic tee shirts are art. They are also using that idea as a type of advertising to try to get people to wear it. The funny part about this is, they didn't advertise the shirts as "this is hott!" or "this is sexy!" They have determined that their clothes are art, fashion is art, and that is why people should wear it.

So is this art? Is your child's scribble art? Is Jackson Pollock's splatter paint art? Or is art reserved for Van Gogh and Da Vinci? Dictionary.com has 16 definitions listed for art, but here is the first one, "the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance." So to be art does it have to be beautiful?

I don't think there could be any straightforward definition of art. The definiton of art has become so broad, that if you were to say something isn't art it would seem like an insult. So, for now, the definiton is subjective. In my opinion, art is something new and original. Some people look at Pollock's work and say "I could do that! That's not art!"But Pollock was the first one to do that. It was original and now, and therefore, it's art.

This topic is basically a never ending cycle with no definite answer, but if you've never thought about it, think. It will get your brain working.