That is a big question and there are many
answers. How you answer it depends on who you are and how you view art.
There are four disciplines of art: Art History, Art Criticism, Aesthetics
and Production. Art history is the documentation of art of the past and
placing it into a historical context. Art Criticism is the analysis of the
artwork. Production is about making the art. Aesthetics is learning to see
the beauty in art.
The objective in this lesson is to
learn about Aesthetics. Aesthetics is about inquiry. For example, “What is
art?”, “Is art beautiful?”, “Can art be beautiful and ugly?” and “How does
the art make you feel?”
There are no right
or wrong answers to these questions. How you answer these questions may
depend on your age, cultural background or art maturity. Theorist have
created several stages of artistic development. In the earliest stage you
may love the art because it has your favorite color or has your favorite
subject. In the advanced stages you can become more reflective and make
judgments on your own authority and not that of tradition.
