1 - ylan: what is art?

Sorry I'm a little late on this entry... I missed the first few classes. I've read somewhere that there is no such thing as Art (especially with a capital A), only artists. I think this is an appropriate idea, especially since art exists in almost limitless forms even a single artist will often use many different media. And I guess it's also true that everyone is an artist in some way or another.

The best way I can think to define art is that it is always a symbolic representation of something. Art cannot be reality itself but it is obviously intended to communicate the artist’s ideal or perception of reality. Art is also foremost creative in the sense that it reflects the imagination and skill (in either design or manufacture) of an artist. I chose the Egyptian painting here because some of my previous conceptions of art have been challenged in an art history class I'm also taking, especially as I consider older popular manifestations of "art." The Egyptian style of painting obviously seems like it should be considered an art, but artists were despised by polite society because they worked with their hands and artists were trained to paint only in a very specific, formulaic way. Additionally, the art was not valued intrinsically but served purely superstitious/religious purposes, and the style remained identical for thousands of years. Who's "expression" is it therefore?