Category: Definition Essay

My Definition of Art

Art has become an inevitable part of life. It is a product of a contrived human activity which consists in selecting or shaping materials with the purpose of conveying particular feelings, emotions, ideas or visually interesting forms. Art basically divides into three main groups; visual, literary, and performing. Visual arts are forms of expression which appeal to the eyes through painted images, as well as to the sense of space through carved or molded materials. Examples of it are drawings, paintings and photography; sculpture, architecture, decorative arts, crafts, and other visual works that combine materials or forms. Literature, on the other hand, refers to a written and oral genre that contains artistic value both to generators and the audience. It includes poetry, folktales, oral and written narratives. Finally, performing arts generally encompass all forms of creative activities such as dance, opera, drama, and music. Sometimes people use this term to describe a skill or an activity, for instance, the art of brick making or the art of adventure, among others.

As a compulsory component of culture in society, art provides means through which different people can express their imagination and personal vision. It offers a range of intellectual and emotional pleasures to the audience or its consumers and is an important instrument of representing all cultures. However, art is presumably regarded as a lie that helps people to see the truth more clearly. This expression is attributed to Pablo Picasso, the great Spanish painter, and artist, who experimented with an assortment of styles and techniques by which he influenced the course of modern art. This essay provides a balanced critique of Picasso’s belief by focusing on different features of various artistic genres and the general significance of art in society.

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The Nature of Artistic Genres

Considering the way various artistic genres are contrived by artists and artisans, the credence that “ art is a lie that helps people to see the truth more clearly” is quite plausible. Every artistic work is a combination of a number of techniques and materials which are skillfully brought together to denote a certain degree of reality when viewed or listened to by consumers. However, usually, the secret about reality lies with the artist. In visual arts, for instance, color is normally applied in drawings and paintings to accentuate the rhythm and contrasts that reflect the natural views of the landscape. Bright and dark paints are used interchangeably to enhance the tone of images as if they were illuminated by natural light entering from a particular direction.

Similarly, drawings usually have distinct sizes that are proportional to real objects; where some would appear to be on the forefront as others in the background. The front images would always appear clearer and nearer the observer whereas the background images would be blurred and farther from the viewer. This principle automatically articulates the idea of perspective in the natural setting when one looks at the picture from different angles. More often than not, artists would even employ imagination to contrive images that match the actual conventional beliefs and expectations of various societies. For example, the drawings of angels, Satan, ogres, the Garden of Eden, the settings of heaven and hell, among others, are purely people’s imaginations but none of the viewers have ever questioned their credibility. At a glance, the observers would easily and quickly place the painted images in various natural contexts regardless of the lies that are evident in the drawing.

As pertains to literature, a lot of lies still dominate in the folktales, narratives, poetry, and journalism. Many tales that often relate to the audience are mere fiction where events, characters, and settings are built purely on imagination. However, they are creatively structured in a manner that their traits and appearance coincide with real natural objects which the audience or consumers can easily relate to. The selection of terminologies in poetry exists not only to depict the relationship between different words but also to unleash the rhyming effect between the words and the phenomena they represent in real life. Journalism is another field of art where lies are applied in abundance. The pressmen usually creatively edit and exaggerate the content to be broadcasted or printed in newspapers to a certain level to suit the expectations and beliefs of the audience. For instance, motion pictures are usually manipulated by adjusting the pace at which events occurred to bring out certain realities in which people would believe. Many advertisements that usually lure people into the craving for certain products are mere lies which are fashioned skillfully to make items appear superior or relevan