The contemporary art has such features as simplicity, unusual abstractionism, surrealism, and futuristic motives. The beginning of the 20th century marked the revolution in everything: in outlook, vision and perception of the world and this revolution are evident in the art. It has become even more debatable because many people fail to distinguish real art and make it business to bring profits.
It is difficult the define the meaning of the word “art”, as it is abstract and differs from person to person. Without a doubt, art is a way of expression of human emotions, forms, colors, and abstract ideas. Other people suppose that it is impossible to define the notion of art due to its abstractionism and depth. Art is the activity or product of the human activity that has an aesthetic and communicative purpose. This essay intends to explore the meaning of art, how other people see and perceive it. It analyzes examples of art and factors that will be helpful for making its definition.
Art is a way of reflecting the reality trying to decorate it with more colorful paints and expressing of feelings and emotions through different forms. It is full of mysticism, based on sensory perception, and one should analyze it with a reason and heart to be not only logical but objectively emotional. Art is full of symbolism that provokes analysis, reflection and criticism. Omitting one of these aspects will prove the emptiness of the artwork.
I believe that pictures, music, and paintings created with the commercial purpose cannot be real art. Artworks created for getting profits to fail to be art. Without doubt, art can be sold, but first of all, it should inspire, charm, magnetize and provoke feelings. Commercial “art” intends to get more customers. As a result, it can be fashionable or branded, but not masterpiece and eternal. Fashionable paintings for sale do not express a real state of affair, emotions, and feelings. Not without a reason, the proverb says: “Life is short, and art is eternal”. “Art works” for commerce can be exciting and admiring only for a short period of time due to its primitive meaning. As to such painters as William Turner, their art is eternal.
My favorite pieces of art are paintings by Joseph Mallord William Turner, especially his artwork The Shipwreck. The Shipwreck refers to romanticism, and its subject is landscape. At first, it was displayed at Tate Britain. The painter created the beautiful composition of this masterpiece with the help of lights, color palette, brushstrokes, and tone. The painting shows the inferiority of man vs. nature. Joseph Mallord William Turner pays attention to the catastrophe in the sea making it realistic and contradictive at the same time.
The Shipwreck is an art because it is symbolic and reflects the feelings and emotions of the audience which admires it. The sea is depicted here as the fury and anger of the nature addressing to humanity. It becomes evident that the sea here acts like a human being and shows its dissatisfaction and negative feelings to humanity. The ship is a symbol of people that wrecked because of the conflicts and contradictions to nature. The mood of The Shipwreck is gloomy and disastrous. This painting is my favorite piece of art because it is full of meanings and ambiguity. When I look at The Shipwreck, I feel fear, proud, admiring and pleasure. For me, this painting is like the prediction that nature will punish humanity for its negligent attitude to it.
I appreciate the contrast of the power of nature (sea) to the weak, uncertain and corruptive existence (crew at the ship). At first, I saw The Shipwreck at school, and I could not stop admiring it. Despite that fact I was not in the inspiring surrounding, I forgot about the reality and stood still. Without a doubt, the place where one observes artworks is crucial. However, if a person deals with real art, he/she will be absorbed completely in it.
Interviewing my classmates, I understood that their vision of art differed from mine. My friend believed that even an item of clothing can refer to art as it is a result of human activity and creativity. Most of my classmates’ associated art with creativity. However, to my mind feelings and emotions are more crucial when it comes to art. Others supposed art to be a way of transformation of the ideas in every culture across time and space. It is worth to admit that all students believed that art had an aesthetic function.
