My Favorite Artist.

At the beginning of this course, I had no idea who my favorite artist was or if I even had one. I did not really know how to define art and I had too little experience with art to choose a favorite just yet. After blogging, discussing philosopher's views of what is art, searching artworks online, visiting museums, and so on, I can finally say I have a couple of favorite artists. I think having more than one favorite artist is justified because there are so many different forms of art. My favorite painter is Leonid Afremov.

I found his works while looking for a painting to add to my blog and I fell in love with them. His usage of colors is inspiring and pleasing. He is a very optimistic artist, which is what I love most about him. I consider his art to be my favorite because it's beautiful but also conveys certain emotions and messages in each piece. Plus, I love the subject material he decides to paint: Autumn, nature, flowers, rainy days, dancers, and so on. It's all just beautiful. Enough said.

I also love The Beatles. They are my all time favorite band. I don't think I need any explanation for this one. They are just amazing. :)

My question to you is: Who is your favorite artist and why do you consider him or her as such?

My Definition of Art.

"Art is what's left over after you've defined everything else." -Michael Vitale.

Art and Philosophy has taught me more than I expected about art and how to define it. After reading the works of many philosophers, I find that I agree the most with Tolstoy and "Art as Communication of Feeling." Professor Johnson defines art as, "The suitably technical, creative, and intentional embodiment of aesthetically engaging thought or emotion in any publicly accessible medium." I would have to agree with him mostly. To me, art is a form of creativity, self-expression, and above all, communication. The artist of the piece of work decides what he or she wants to create before hand and what message is going to be communicated in the piece. The artist intends for it to be art and for people to view it and learn from it. He or she uses aesthetics to create a piece with strong emotion using different techniques. In the piece, the artist's self is displayed to the audience and the audience views the piece to learn something about the artist and the world. A work of art can be frightening, pleasing, beautiful, ugly, sad, mad, and so on. When it comes to art, there are no boundaries because anyone can express themselves anyway they want and everybody's idea of what is good and what is bad art differs.

I feel as though the definition of art is always changing and expanding as society evolves. I do not think it is undefinable and I feel like art needs to be appreciated much more than it is. The first step is encouraging children to learn about different forms of art and encourage the population to view museums and exhibits. Seeing art in person is a whole other experience than viewing it on the internet. My definition of art is: Any creation by a member of the art world that not only expresses certain emotions in an aesthetic manner but communicates a message to the audience successfully.

My question to you is: After completing the seminar, Art & Philosophy, how do you define art? Which philosopher from class do you associate your views with the most?

Georgia O'Keefe's inspiration of this painting was the waves of Lake George in NY. I chose to put this in my blog because I live close to Lake George and think it's pretty awesome a painting so famous has to do with something so close to me. :)

Response to "To Be Unique."

Response #19

In Misty Elliot's blog, she talks about Adrian Piper's view on art objects. Piper believes art loses its uniqueness the more it is viewed by us because we appreciate it less and do not feel the surprise we initially did of seeing something new. She also believes we, as human beings, see art as a fetish. We feel the need to categorize, obsess, and label it until it loses meaning. Misty states that she does not agree with Piper because she believes it is possible to enjoy something even more after viewing it enough to understand it and know it deeply. Misty believes the problem is that individuals do not take the time to appreciate art. People take for granted the everyday beautiful of life and don't find the time to admire the works of others. To her, it isn't about fetishism when it comes to art. It's about enjoying and respecting it, which is not done enough in this day and age. Misty asks, "If piper is right and objects lose their uniqueness through perception, does that apply to people as well? If not, then why would objects made by unique people lose their uniqueness when people don't?"

I think Piper makes a strong point about the artworld but I do not think art loses its uniqueness each time it is viewed. The purpose of creating art is to communicate a message to the observer and still have it be aesthetically pleasing. This can't be done if art is not viewed. Of course, the initial surprise of art decreases the more it is seen but I think it becomes even more appreciated and understood each time a person views a piece. For example, when I see a film, its suspenseful and unpredictable since I have never seen it. However, the more and more I see it, the more I enjoy it because I learn something new about it each time. I have seen my favorite movie, The Princess Bride, more times than I can count. But that makes me love it more and I still find it to be a unique film. I don't think people can lose their uniqueness unless they change who they are and conform to society. I feel as though once a person is characterized as unique, then they become even more so over time. Say a person gets a tattoo, something uncommon. This probably just adds to their unique self. The tattoo will never disappear off a person's body so he or she just can't lose this unique aspect of his or herself. Uniqueness, most of the time, is lasting. Piper's account of art is interesting but I still don't agree that art becomes less unique the more it is viewed. I don't think people do either. Once something is characterized as unique, than it takes a lot to take away this label.

My question to you is: Do you agree with Adrian Piper's view of performance art, that it is the most unique and appreciated form of art? Why or why not?

"Garden" by Joan Miro (I chose this painting because of its uniqueness)