Common people and even self-proclaimed artists don’t even understand Art.
Here’s a complete explanation of What is Art? And Should you Share Your Art? I’ll explain it based on ideas/concepts shown by Simon Sinek.
Let’s define art, give you the 3 factors that distinguish a work of art from any ordinary work.
A lot of people who create brilliant works are not artists because they don’t fulfill the definition of an art/artist.
The definition of art will help you distinguish between a painter vs an artist or a poet vs an artist.
What makes poetry just poetry and what makes poetry art?
People are quick to call anyone an artist. Art is precious, and art is sacred, not everything unique is art.
m, they are too scared to let people copy their art.
I want to debunk this myth. Art is meant to be shared. You’ll learn the answer to should you Share your art?
Here are the 3 necessary conditions to call any work art:
- Intention
- Display
- Reception
The fulfillment of all these 3 criteria at the same time converts a text into artist work, converts a painting into art.
Again, I have to clarify that this Creation has a significant portion of the ideas of Simon Sinek, and we have to intent to claim these concepts as our own. It’s just that we want to spread his ideas, and present our interpretation of those ideas.
Simon Sinek On What Is Art
Art is any creation that satisfies these 3 criteria, it should have the intention to be shown as art, it should be displayed as a work of art, and important, it should be received as a work of art.
What is Art? What is the Intention needed to be Artist?
And when any work satisfies all these 3 criteria, the creator becomes an artist.
You can make the next Mona Lisa, but if you keep it hidden in your bedroom, not having the intention to call it “art” then you are not an artist.
A real artist is proud of his work and has the intention to display it as a work of art.
An Artist intends to create unique, creative, and original works.
They intend to not copy from others.
A real artist has NO intention to copy from other sources. However, a real artist can take inspiration/ideas from other sources and use them to build his art.
So what is art? Simply put it’s a union of intention to create art + display of the creation as art + reception as art.
The true intention of an artist is to create original artwork
Art is about Imperfections.
Humans have built printers that can print to the precision far beyond human capabilities.
Our cameras can bring the most real and accurate representation of the sthe cene.
But that doesn’t make it art.
Art is about creativity and imperfections.
Real art is generally imperfect. It has fixtures, trial, error, and iterations.
That makes it unique and one of a kind.
The same perfect photo is an accurate representation of the scene and is not considered art. However when lands in the hands of a Digital Artist, it can become a work of art given the Digital Artist has the intention to use software to mold the scene to his creativity, add his touch of artistic sense, and then display it as a work of art.
Can I be Artist without Skills/Training
Yes, as I said art has 3 criteria, Intention, Display, and Reception.
If you make a good painting you are a good painter, but you may or may not be a good artist.
Similarly, if you are a good artist you just need proper intention, display, and reception, regardless of whether your artwork is beautiful or not, or you have skills or not.
A beautiful painting that is a copy of another artwork is not art, because the creator didn’t show the intention to create real art.
However, a barely average painting, which was created with an original idea, and was made with a lot of effort can be art.
Displaying Art: Should You Share Your Art with Others?
Yes, you should share your art with others. Art is meant to influence society. Great art is always unique and original, so you should freely share your work.
People spent months, sometimes years working on a single project, and do not want their work to be copied by someone else, as a result, they try to avoid showing the art.
I strongly believe that you should be open to show your art to the world and be proud of it.
The art doesn’t consider whether it’s real or imaginary. For example, a painter might paint a scene too good to be real, or a poet may describe some beauty in an unreal way, yet if they consider it art it’s truly an art.
The true job of art is to influence people and improve their imagination.
This doesn’t mean that if someone copies your work you should stay quiet. It just means that you should take legal action, but still not worry, because that copied work would neither have the “Intention” of art nor the “reception” of art.m
Art comes out of passion and is an expression of creativity. You cannot express yourself if you fear your expressions being copied.
Great art is any work that follows all the criteria, that define “What is Art?”
Therefore any of your art copied by someone else would not fulfill the first criteria of ‘Intention’, hence it would never be considered as art publically.
I hope you are enjoying my answer to what is art.
The most important part of What is Art: The Reception of Art
Reception of art is the final and the most important aspect in the entire concept of What is Art.
If your art is not considered as “art” by the general public, then it probably isn’t art.
A museum for example is a place where ancient art is kept.
Any given object, an old vase for example is considered just an archaeological discovery until it reaches the Museum, once placed inside a museum it starts to be received as ancient art.
That’s the difference reception makes. As Simon Sinek describes, a piece of wooden log is just a piece of wood existing in nature, but if you understand its beauty, bring it out of its normal environment, and display it as a work of art, people would eventually observe its beauty and a bare piece of wood will become “art”.
Reception matters.
Now the reception is subjective. Who do you consider the “Audience” and what is the matter of being “received as art”
For example, if you show your art in your home and your relatives, do you call it art.
Well it depends, it’s up to the artist, but at least someone beyond the creator/people directly involved in its making should consider it a work of art.
To be an artist you need to have a proper display, but that doesn’t mean that your art should be placed next to Mona Lisa, it’s just that art should always be displayed enough that people can receive it and judge it.
You might just be showing it to a dozen people, that visit your home in a month. If those dozen people consider it art you are still an artist.
True art can be observed anywhere and everywhere.
One of my friends narrates a story of a carpenter who used to make one of the finest wooden structures in the city.
He had the intention to work had on detailing wooden work, he also displayed his woodwork publically, but some people bought from his shop just because they wanted to buy a cabinet or table, others bought because of the impressive detailing.
Even though people were buying from the same shop, from the same carpenter, and majorly similar products, one considered him a carpenter, and the other considered him an artist.
The difference was significant. One was buying art, the other was buying wood when paid for the detailing and carvings in wood, other paid for the wood.
Hence same product could be art for someone and nothing for others.
Conclusion
Being an #artist isn’t easy.
A significant number of self-proclaimed artists work for either fame or money.
In reality, they are not artists, because they intend to earn rather than create stuff.
Intention to be an artist comes at a great cost. You have to spend time getting the right inspiration for your original idea, then work harder to create the masterpiece, and then show it to the world enough, that they consider your art.
#Art doesn’t necessarily have to be beautiful, it just has to be a unique and original idea.
As of now, the explanation of Simon Sinek is the best answer to “What is Art” in my opinion.
In case you have a better explanation or something to add, do let me know in the comments below.
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