Halle Wassink

What is Art
Art has been around for thousands of years. Throughout arts epic history people
saw many different forms and reasons why art is created. Prehistoric cave paintings in
France where created because of religious beliefs as well as many other pieces of art
(Jirousek, par 2). And art became more surrealistic after the invention of the camera
(Getlein, p20). Art has been telling a story that words cannot describe for thousands of
years. Art is created for many reasons: religious views, historical documentation,
propaganda, to show beauty, to tell a story, to express emotion, and many more
(Jirousek). All these forms give people a reason to make art.
There are two different types of people involved in art, the artist and the viewer. It
is up for debate on which person gets to judge art. A piece of paper or whatever medium
that is being used becomes art when the artist is purposely creating something for a
reason. The viewer is not the one to judge if the creation is art or not, it is their job to
appreciate and enjoy the artwork. Dada art is a good example of this. Some people see
dada as mocking art while others see it as a different form of art. However most dada
artists have a reason in making their art, most of their reasoning comes from them
making a point about what is art, and the value of it.
In the movie Exit Through the Shop, it was mentioned that how art is received is
what makes it good or not. The artist Mr. Brainwash and other street artist became
widely popular because they became talked about. It was important for street artists to
get their trait or logo out to as many places possible to sell their brand. Their reasoning
behind this was that after repetition people on the street would notice and ask about it.

The more people talking the more popular they would become, making their artwork
good. This reasoning is a perfect explanation of art and the value of art. Artists are
perceived as good when they are famous and talked about. Also the more popular the
more demand and value is on their work. Another reason street art became so popular
and still is, is because it is not completely legal. The mystery and danger of illegal art
makes it even more demand. Also it makes a statement on the past norms of art having
to be beautiful and tell a story, street art questions authority and its rebellious persona
is what makes it interesting and valuable to people.
Some artist like Leonardo Da Vinci do not become widely popular until after their
death. This also makes their paintings more valuable because there is a limited amount
of artwork available by those artists. People put a higher price and are willing to pay
more for a famous artist that only has so many paintings available.
People have different tastes in art and different artists have different styles.
These different styles show different emotions and the viewer is left to decide what they
feel and what they feel the art is supposed to represent or be. Art is made with emotions
and is perceived with emotions, however not everyone feels something when they see
different types of art. Just because a persons emotions are not affected by a certain
artwork does not mean that it is not art.
Art does not have to be art because it is beautiful or expensive or because a
famous dead artist created it, it is art if it is made for a reason, whether to express
emotion, tell a story, or question authority. Art can be anything if an artist makes it art.
Works Cited
Getlein, Mark. Living With Art. 9th ed., New York City, McGraw-Hill, 1985.

Guetta, Thierry, Actor. Exit Through the Gift Shop. Banksy 2010. Accessed 7 Nov. 2016.

Jirousek, Charlotte. "The Evolution of Art in the Modern Era." Cornell, . Accessed 7 Nov.
2016.