One for the broad brush strokes

I shouldn't beat around the bush with this one -- best to let it straight out of the bag, and let it hang somewhat ominously in the air, as questions like this are wont to do....

This one is from Ms. Mood Board herself, Pip Shea.

'What is art?'


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As you can see above, I found the definitive answer. Now, if only the rest of you could read post-Teutonic hieroglyphs, I wouldn't need to go any further!

Actually, my first thought when reading this question was, 'why doesn't she just read the bloody book?' Leo Tolstoy set about answering this question in a lengthy essay in 1897, which he aptly titled 'What is Art?'

Tolstoy started by saying what he thought art wasn't -- that art shouldn't be defined by or limited to concepts of truth, good, or beauty. He also thought that art didn't have to make you feel good, as some ancient, long-bearded, Greek codgers had said a couple of thousand years back.

Tolstoy did pretty well with answering this gargantuan question. He essentially said that art must create some kind of emotional link between artist and audience. He was heavily into the concept of 'communication as infection'and therefore felt that art must communicate something in a clear and genuine way.

Tolstoy did write this treatise well before the Duchamps, Hirsts, and Tracey Emins of our time, but old Leo did a pretty sterling job in creating a yard-stick that works in a general fashion.

But this column is not about Tolstoy, but rather about Miss Kimba (whose ankles are currently being attacked by a small chipmunk named Peggy-Sue). What do I think art is? Well, let's see....

Essentially 'art' to me is about an idea and the skill with which it takes a form. Any form. Whether it's a compact little ditty about a blacksmith, amazing images projected onto urban objects, Grandpa's invention for a automatic toilet roll loader...the point is, it's art if the concept is turned into something tangible, even for an instant (like theatre). Although Tolstoy was more concerned with the communication of an idea or emotion, I'm of the far more woo-woo school of thought, that says it's art even if the only person who takes anything of value from the piece is the person who creates it! As long I'm not given a macrame and hemp owl hanging as a gift that has to be dug out, dusted off, and put it on the wall every time the hapless artist comes to visit!


Had you asked me what the difference between good art and bad art is, I would have had a much tougher time of it!

There you have it -- a nutshell answer. For a more thorough and definitive answer to this matter, I highly recommend investing in 'Teutonic and Post Tuetonice Hieroglyphics; fun for you and me: A workbook.'