Unit 1: Who Defines Art?

Who defines art? The artist defines art. The viewer defines art. Society can define art. Art is defined by many different people in many different ways. The way in which a person defines art depends on aspects such as their culture, their childhood, their lifestyle, and their values and beliefs. The person who defines art incorporates everything that makes them unique into interpreting what an art piece may mean to them. For example, a painting can be three shades of blue. One individual may believe that the artist was gloomy and was expressing sadness. Another individual may believe that the artist was calm and felt a sense of freedom. The definition of art is highly dependent on the person. What is considered as art is also highly dependent on the person. For example, Bruce Nauman created a stairway and stated that the stairway was art because he said it was. There are no limitations or boundaries on what can be defined as art because there are no limitations or boundaries on what a person can imagine. Who defines art? Everyone in the world defines art and for this very reason, art can have over a million definitions because every single person in the world can view the same art piece and have over a million different perspectives.