Over the years, art has become more and more conceptual, with many art museums having pieces that are ridiculously out of proportion to what most consider art. For example, a piece, called “Comedian,” created by Maurizio Cattelan, is simply a banana duct taped to a wall exactly 1.6 meters or 5.25 feet above the ground. This piece of art is often used as an example to highlight what people think of the ridiculousness that has been created, which is being called art. Other pieces of “art” that are being ridiculed are things like a blank canvas and the child-like splashes of paint that, although hard to replicate perfectly, can be done in a similar style easily. So, what is art?
Art, to me, is anything beautiful and meaningful. A bird hatching is art, and the way the breeze ruffles through the grass is art. These are merely examples that can be found in nature, but this same beauty can be found in any form. It can be found in the soft colors of a drawing or the soft whisper of a chorus. Meaning without beauty is just a concept; it is a thought. Meaning with beauty is art, it is a feeling deep inside you that must be made. It is the combination of all of the small things you see every day, and every thought you have ever had.
In the modern age of art, these things can be found; when they are, it is like a part of your soul has been reclaimed. This entire thought process is founded on the idea that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” Many things could be art, and by association beautiful; it all depends on the viewer. Because of this, we can get a rich diversity of art and art forms that bring more color to the world.
Meaning comes from the intent of the artist. Suppose they think that something is beautiful and merely want to try to put the beauty from their head into reality. This is the meaning. It doesn’t have to be some grand display of rebellion or a new way of thinking; it just has to exist. It just has to be a display of what the artist thinks is alluring.
This is overshadowed by the perceived need to inject meaning when the art piece doesn’t need it. There is a trend of having an art piece and it being understated and plain, and then it has this complex and over-the-top meaning. This is not to say that the meanings aren’t true; however, sometimes the most important meaning a piece can have is that it was beautiful, and the artist wanted to capture even just a fraction of the beauty they saw.
Art is beauty, it is meaningful, and although what people will create is constantly changing with time, at the core of it all is the want and need to create something, anything that speaks to you.
