Quote:
Originally Posted by Dottore
...Start a thread—any thread—and the same guys always weigh in with insults. It's a microcosm of the political debate on the national level.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by javadog
...thread along the lines of the "Pelican OT art contest. Maybe there could be categories for "past scribbling" and "future masterworks."
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I see it as Dottore sees it. But I'll give it a try. There are a few here who are interested in a reasonable discussion of art. I've had PMs from several over the course of this thread, one being Jim Horton. Revisit his post #280; it adresses what has been lacking in this thread, a proposed structure within which to base a discussion on art and a request for thoughts on the matter. Nothing resulted but a resumption of the whack-a-mole dumbness stimulated by the same insult slinging guys Dottore is referring to.
So, with hopes of starting an interesting and perhaps educational discussion, I'll start a new thread later today with Jim's aforementioned post. I know he won't mind. He suggested that I post it myself (it was in a PM from me to him) but I suggested that he post it if he wanted to. It was written by me and I thought he'd get no or fewer harrangues than I would, given my standing with the whacked out moles who persist in popping up here.
I'll post that opener to a new thread here again so the moles won't have to open the new thread and can continue posting their insults here if they wish.
We'll see what happens. This is what I wrote Jim:
" Yes, to define art is tricky. I categorize it:
Graphic/commercial art - conveying info that promotes a product, event, etc.
Crafts - ceramics, weaving, glass blowing, etc. Objects made primarily to serve a purpose or function.
Decoration - eye candy.
Design - applicable to all the above and judged by how effectively/elegantly/aesthetically it is embodied in the product.
The area of crafts is problematic for some who might say, "That's a tapestry to hang on the wall to look at, it has no other function, it's art". Yes, but its essence is that of craft; it's a weaving. The artist/craftsman (as opposed to the basic craftsman, who's basic focus is on his craft as utilitarian) chooses to be constrained by the medium of his choice and when judging his work the aesthetic/artistic aspects of the work are penultimate to the quality of the craft.
A fine artist may in fact be a lousy craftsman and the choice of medium is dictated by the statement he wants to make. I've never heard or read reference to the quality of the "craft" in Van Gogh's paintings for example. Truth is, he was driven by images which he attempted to put on canvas as quickly as he could, even at one point when he was institutionalized, rapidly making a painting then immediately scraping off the paint and making another and another. His focus was on his visions, not so much with the craft involved in realizing them.
Fine art, whatever the medium - serves no purpose or function other than to make whatever statement the artist wishes to make. It, by definition, has no utilitarian value. And, it is cutting edge, pushing the envelope, avant garde, however one wants to describe it. Most often it is not possible to judge its historical importance immediately. Some is not, as is generally realized, able to be judged until varying ammounts of time has past, after which great/historically significant art can be recognized in the greater context that only accumulates over time.
What most people stumble over is the differentiation between the avant garde and the academic. They tend not to recognize that "creativity" is not the ability to paint like Rembrandt, Renoir, Picasso or Pollock - that ability is a craft. The creative work was done by Pollock - to repeat what he did is craft and one who may be able to do it well is an "artist" craftsman, an academician, because that which has become recognized as creative and important is thereafter academic - creative art moves on."