What is art? Five ways to look at the meaning of art

Determining the meaning of art?

There are many reasons for creating art and for appreciating art. There is, of course, the fulfillment the creator has of expression, there is the appreciation of the one experiencing art, there is the beauty of a useful object that’s carefully crafted, to name a few. If we break the meaning of art down in a few components, what do we have then? There is the creator’s side and the receiver’s side of art, so let’s start with that difference on the creator’s side.

The creator

A creator has many reasons for creating. If we look at just the aesthetic of a piece, it is the creator’s intent and their perceived success in creating something beautiful (or sometimes intentionally ugly) that is the first reason. Often a creator experiences an event or situation that they want to capture in an art piece. Think of the experience of a peaceful afternoon at the beach, the anxiety of modern urban life, or the beauty of a painting. In capturing that experience, the creator creates something new, even though the experience is often a shared human experience.

Now, switching from the aesthetic to the craft: creating something and succeeding in creating a piece that looks like what the creator intended takes skill and practice. This fulfillment is entirely different from aesthetically fulfillment. Aside from succeeding, there is the practice, countless hours of practice. The people who are tremendously skilled have put in the hours to get where they are, and even though it is a hard road to take, very often they take pleasure in practicing. It is impossible to get to the top without taking some form of pleasure in getting there.

So just by looking at the creator’s side of art, there are many layers to the meaning of art. Getting to make a certain piece creates experiences in the practice for it, in making it, in the intention behind it and in the end product. The end product is often a reminder of all these layers to the creator themself, which makes art so personal to a creator.

The receiver

For the receiver of art, there is also the distinction between the craft and the aesthetics. It is definitely possible to appreciate the aesthetics while also acknowledging that in terms of craft; the piece is easy to make - or the other way around. When looking at the aesthetics, the receiver needs to relate to the piece. This doesn’t always need to be emotional and immediate. Since art is so often created from a certain experience by the creator, knowing the context of a piece and why the creator made it often helps with relating to it and get a feeling for what the creator wanted to achieve. Aesthetically, it is of course possible to appreciate something without knowing the context. And sometimes you experience a piece of art and you know what it means immediately, even without context.

In terms of craft, it is sometimes hard for the receiver to truly appreciate the craft needed to make the piece, at least at first glance. I believe this is one reason art is under appreciated (when it is under appreciated). In the age of mass production, we forget that making something by hand actually takes a lot of effort and experience. Additionally, it is sometimes ironic when a true master of their craft can make the creation look so easy that the receiver has a hard time appreciating the skill it takes. All these things considered, almost everyone knows the skill it takes to make something truly great, and after knowing the context and seeing the actual process, the receiver can often appreciate the work truly. For me, it has certainly helped to create an emotional bond with a piece after knowing what takes to have the skill to make it.

For the receiver, there is also the added layer of how useful the piece is. There are art forms that are fleeting and these often do not have a direct function. Think of a live concert or performance art. There are art forms that are purely decorative, but ‘permanent’, such as paintings. Then there are art forms that are ‘permanent’ and have a function. A decorative timepiece, a beautiful coffee machine, and so on. There are, however, people who think that everything needs to have a ‘function’ to be appreciated - I couldn’t believe it either. Art shouldn’t have to have a function besides aesthetics to be appreciated, but I must say that having a tool that is also beautiful really adds to the experience. I would almost say that it needs to be the other way around: we should only appreciate things with a function if they are also artfully crafted.

So when I look at the meaning of art, I would definitely say that context and a curious approach to the things makes that art have meaning. Be brave enough to say “I like this, just by the way it looks”, or “I don’t like the way it looks, but I appreciate the craft so much”. Especially if you do not know what it takes to create something, don’t dismiss it as easy, low-effort, or otherwise dismissive. Either way, make your life more beautiful and more ‘you’ with art.