The vexing question, "What is art?" has been raised several times in the last few days from apparently independent sources. While I was reading Learning to Write with Uncle Jim I was directed to an online course called Reception of the Arts. This site has a wealth of notes on the subject from the viewpoint of the receiver.
Nathalia Edenmont creates art by killing animals. Wetterling Gallery defend her art as beautiful and thought provoking. Is art defined by the intent of the creator or is it defined by the recipient? Must both creator and recipient agree that it is art?
In Sweden, a law has been proposed that will require photographers to pay royalties to an artist if they publish a photo that includes any significant part of a work of art. This law includes a legal definition of art that covers paintings and sculpture. What if an artist creates works of art on skin? Can a makeup artist expect royalty payments from a photographer if a made-up face is included within a photograph of some other subject? If the law is passed, I can see a lucrative market for legal "artists".
I fear that the English word "art" has been so overloaded with different meanings that it is impossible to define. Perhaps the word has become virtually useless. Looking at dictionary definitions supports this view. However, since we continue to use the word to communicate a concept, I'd like to have a stab at finding some boundaries to its meaning, however fuzzy.
These musings led me to construct a little thought experiment (which I'm pretty sure is not itself art):
Imagine you are the reigning monarch of the small island state of Artopiana. You have 144000 subjects and a thriving, self-sufficient economy.
You decide that you have enough treasury surplus to be able to provide some modest financial assistance for artists. Being a wise monarch, you realise there may be some opportunists in your kingdom who try to take advantage of your generosity. Since you don't have the time to administer the art assistance scheme personally, you need to set out some guidelines as to what pursuits qualify as art.
What are your guidelines? What are the essential elements of art that your kind, intelligent social security officer should look for when someone applies for support?
