What makes something art

I respond to what I respond to. Each of these is equal. I love this: Creativity enables you to imagine a beautiful picture; the skill of painting allows you to bring it to life. You get that spark of creativity and you want the results now.

But the work to turn that inspiration into the best end possible, that work starts long before inspiration hits … and continues long after. I see them on dA. Like Denise says, you nailed it, Emily.

And further, we simply must be able to say that something is art and another is not. Just as we must be able to say one thing is simply better than another. Skill certainly helps us differentiate. Did Bach compose with more skill than Madonna? He sure did and is his music better? It sure is. I may be creative as a writer and artist.

Nor can I sing like my other sister. How do we honor the man who heals animals in his veterinary clinic? Hooray for the different creativity sparks in all of us! Pingback: The Simple Art of Cooking woodenspoonsandginger. Is a component of art that it must be shared?

It makes me think of Emily Dickinson, who of course famously hid all her poetry away in a box in her room, and never intended to share it. Did it only become art when it was found and shared? I know a lot of other authors write only for themselves too, and never share it with anyone else. However, I can see a good argument either way. What do you think? And the other girl would usually show off her work, on her phone. It was often very colourful, smooth, and almost looked unrealisticly clean.

No spots or crooked lines in the paper, anywhere and the shading looked sharp and neat. That day, the girl presented her work again and I passive-agressively asked her to draw me something, right there. She refused and I asked again. No paintbrushes or pencils involved. Now, I felt quite bad about this afterwards, because she looked very upset after this. And at the same time, I felt great. Not a drawing-artist, but still an artist. I asked Jan Willem Wennekes , also known as Zeptonn, for his opinion on this.

He is a freelancer who specializes in illustrative design and art direction, with a focus on eco-friendly and environmental projects. Jan Willem Wennekes: The question seems a bit ambiguous. On the one hand, there seems to be a question about the effort required to create digital art.

That is, some people may think that using digital media to create art is easier than using traditional media. On the other hand, there seems to be a question of whether digital art is an art form in itself or maybe at all? With respect to the first question, I think that working with digital media mostly the computer, mouse, Wacom, scanner, software, etc. The computer and all the tools generated by the software are still what they are: tools!

You have to master those tools just as you have to master any other tools. You still have to master color theory and all the other things that are essential to creating a good or stunning piece of art.

Simply put, you have to master all the tools and theory, just as you had to master them before. And the better you master them, the better your artwork can be.

Jan Willem Wennekes: Now, one can wonder whether digital art is a distinct art form. This is a difficult question and not easy to answer. There are many types of digital art: some look a lot like paintings, some look like photographs, some look like drawings, while others appear quite new and unique e. So in a sense, digital art consists of both overlapping and new kinds of art. Photography was once viewed as a competitor to portrait painting, but in the end it became its own art form, with many directions and fields of interest.

In effect, painting benefitted from the rise of photography, and each added to the other and renewed interest in art in general. I think the same holds for newer digital art forms. The 20th century was a turning point in our conception of art, which is mainly why contemporary artists frequently reach for new concepts, break with tradition and reject classic notions of beauty. All these factors have given birth to abstract art.

The artist no longer tries to reflect reality, but rather tries to give expression to their inner world and feelings. The old definitions of art have become obsolete. Today, art is an evolving and global concept , open to new interpretation, too fluid to be pinned down.

He has extensive experience in various facets of the illustration industry, and he has a wide variety of clients. His illustrations are aimed at both adults and children. He has also worked in the advertising world and in publishing, music, fashion, textiles, home decor, merchandising, posters, press and social expression. Travis Lampe is an illustrator who currently lives and works in Chicago. He worked as an art director in advertising.

After a two-year stint in Warsaw, he returned to Chicago and tried his hand in the art and illustration scene. He enjoys making art and toys, and he has shown in fine galleries throughout the US and in Europe.

Question: How much influence does new media have on your work? What is your relationship to digital art? Do you consider yourself a traditional artist? Jonathan Ball: It has a lot of influence. I think because of my knowledge of programming, it influences my work. I think in terms of modular parts and variables. When I design toys, for example, I use computers to scan and create vector art from my original paintings. Purely digital work can be beautiful, but for me there is value in having a tangible and unique product, as opposed to a set of data.

Question: Travis, if the purpose of art was once to create beauty and to imitate nature, today the concept has evolved dynamically and is constantly changing.

In your opinion, how has the Internet and new ways of communicating influenced the development of visual arts, its conceptual premises and its physical execution? Travis Lampe: The Internet most influences the development of art simply by exposing more people to more art. Unfortunately, a lot of it is really, really crappy, as you would expect.

Anyone with a ballpoint pen and digital camera can post their art for the world to see. I think the cream just naturally rises to the top. More communication is great for PR and in that way is a great help to artists. And more communication should equal more ideas bouncing around, which ideally should result in better conceptual thinking.

Artists need some disconnected time for the creative ideas to coalesce. Successful artists are the ones who are disciplined and able to balance all of this, I guess. Question: Would you say that art and the new, social Web have a connection? Are social media a viable way to improve artistic communities? Jonathan Ball: Of course.

Art has a connection to anything in our environment that influences its creators. As far as social media goes, I think being able to communicate better is always an improvement. On the other hand, social media are a constant distraction. When I want to get work done, I disconnect. So I love it and hate it equally. Visual arts comprise many forms of art—painting, drawing, sculpture, music, literature and performance art being the most widely recognized.

However, with the technological revolution, others forms have emerged. So, what exactly is the relationship between these new forms of expression and contemporary artists? Max Kostenko and Pino Lamanna kindly answered my questions, giving us insight into the topic. Max Kostenko is a Russian illustrator. He specializes in 3-D digital illustration and character design.

He works as a freelancer for many Russian studios and agencies worldwide, such as Kotetkat and Lemonade. Pino Lamanna, also known as SchakalWal, is an illustrator and graphic designer from Germany who specializes in corporate design, character design and typography. Question: Please introduce yourself and your work.

How did you get started in the field? Max Kostenko: My name is Max Kostenko. I have been doing illustrations for about one year. Before, I worked for three years as a Web designer in various Moscow Web studios. Pino Lamanna: Hi. My name is Pino Lamanna. I am a year-old half-Italian, half-German digital artist living and working in the city of Wuppertal, in Germany. I currently work as a freelance designer, specializing in unique branding, handmade typography and character design.

Most of my work is highly influenced by graffiti and street art, old-school cartoons and the music I listen to. My aim is to create stylish, unique and useful designs with an urban twist.

I took my first steps as a designer as a little kid, drawing comic strips with my own superheroes. Later, in my teenage years, I became interested in the graffiti and street art movement. The first thing that attracted me to digital art was photo manipulation. Through that, I was introduced to Adobe Photoshop and several digital art communities. Later, I switched my focus to illustration, branding and typography, which I think suits me best.

Question: Tell us a bit about your artwork. What software do you use? How hard was it for you to learn? Max Kostenko: In my work, I use only Photoshop. I started studying it when I wanted to start working as a Web designer. But as years passed, I understood what I really wanted to work on, because I found the job of designer boring, and so I started drawing some silly little men; that is, I tried to understand many of the principles by drawing them.

In Photoshop, I do not use many tools to make my work look artistic—I just choose my normal round brush and start drawing. Pino Lamanna: Even though for the kind of work I specialize in, working in Illustrator or other vector tools would be common, I create most of my work in Photoshop. I cannot say that mastering Photoshop was difficult, because working in it has always been fun.

The very first steps were kind of hard, though. I remember being overwhelmed by the gazillion options. It was learning by doing. I did a lot of tutorials, which I found online, to become comfortable with different techniques and methods.

And of course, there are tutorials for Illustrator everywhere. Question: What is the main inspiration for your pieces? And how has the digital art community influenced your work? Max Kostenko: My inspiration comes in different ways: sometimes after watching a film, sometimes from something I see in the street or on public transport.

Art is valuable because it affords an aesthetic experience. In its creation and reception, as a form of self expression, imaginative engagement, cognitive as well as affective experience, source of individual and social reflection and contemplation, art has always been central to human life. If it is true that the arts capture and express something unique, and aesthetic experience is intrinsically valuable, then we should consider the place for the arts in society and support and value artists for the important contribution they make.

By signing up you agree to our privacy policy. Article Being Human. Art is the purposeful intentions, put into motion to create ones own version of a master piece or what they would consider art. Aesthetics is the philosophical study of art.

If you think about what is enjoyable, or valuable about artworks, and why art is important, then you are considering issues to do with aesthetics. Art defined. Is it the creation or the reception of the artwork that matters the most?

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