Here
are some things to think about as you review your chosen art work:
- Does
"good art" require special skill and training on the part of the
artist? Can a child's immature sketch be considered "good
art"? Can it be considered "great art?" Can
someone who doesn't sing on key be considered a "good" or
"great" artist?
- Does
"good art" require special skill and training on the part of the
audience? Can art which is very easy to understand and to
assimilate be considered "good" or "great"?
- What other
demands, if any, does "good art" make on its audience? In
what ways should the audience participate in the work? Should
the audience be responsible for actively questioning and thinking about
the work? Or does good art let the audience relax, be passive?
- What general effect
should art have on an audience? Does good art affect the audience
physically? Emotionally? Intellectually? Spiritually? All of
the above? None of the above?
- Does
"good art" have broad appeal--or specialized appeal? Does
the size of the approving audience determine the art's worth?
Or does the intelligence and training of the approving audience
determine the art's worth? (I.e., should the worth of art be
measured by the number of people who like it? By the type of
people who like it?))
- How
long-lasting should the appeal of art be, if we are to consider it
"good"? I.e., can "good art" have temporary
appeal? Or is good art only art which has lasting appeal, which
holds up to repeated viewings or listenings?
- Does good art
fit into and extend a tradition, keeping us connected to our roots, or
does it break with tradition and create something new? Does it
promote the status quo--or subvert the status quo?
- Can art be
immoral and still be "good art"?
According to your own definition and criteria, which of the items
below (if any) describes the primary purpose of art?
To delight and entertain
To disturb or unsettle
To provoke critical thought and inquiry
To provoke good feelings
To provoke strong feelings, both good and bad
To show what reality is
To show what reality should be
To reveal or uncover new realities
To invent new realities
To immerse one in the moment
To immerse one in history
To make money
To inspire
To provide catharsis
To teach
To diagnose
To nourish spiritually
To stimulate physically
To promote the status quo
To alter the status quo
To intensify one's awareness of essential connectedness
To intensify one's awareness of essential isolation
To waste time and money
To help viewers escape the world
To help viewers confront the world
To give us people who call themselves artists and who get to wear any weird
clothes they want
To be art
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