1 -- Jamilya Ramos-Chapman -- Beyond Expression

I find art to be very difficult to define, as it there is a lot of ambiguity as to what qualifies as art. There is the artist's intention to consider and the viewer's thoughts to consider as well. Art is, probably most commonly, described as a form of expression. Art is a way to visually express a thought or perhaps feelings, and perhaps to provoke thought and feeling from others. But what qualifies a piece as art? And what would make art good or beautiful?

I have a lot of difficulty defining art, considering not only the controversy surrounding its definition, but also the desire of not wanting to limit it with a definition. All I can say, currently, is that art is very relative, as many other ambiguous topics in society. Every person as a personal definition and I cannot think of way to take the idea of art and put it into such a way that would allow us to easily qualify anything as art. As I discuss and learn more about art, perhaps I will be able to create my own definition of art, but as it stands now I am at a loss.



Does a piece have to make a statement to qualify as art? Does it have to actually provoke thought and feeling? Are aesthetics enough to qualify something as art?