What Is Art?

What is art?

Well, really, art is whatever one makes it out to be. That's the vaguest possible description, but there you go. It is literally the vaguest possible thing.

But that said. What is art?

Art is the 1947 Jackson Pollock painting, 'Sea Change', that the Seattle Art Museum is taking in for a restoration. There was a coat of varnish placed on it in the 70's, and they're looking to get it off before it interacts too much with the paint.


What is art?

A controversial painting by Michael d'Antuono called 'The Truth', placed on display at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston. The painting, created in 2009, depicts Barack Obama in a crucifixion-style pose while wearing a crown of thorns, standing in front of a large Presidential seal. d'Antuono intended the message of the painting to be an attack on conservative media: a twin commentary on Obama's perceived 'crucifixion' by the conservative media and the imagery provided by them that he was a savior or the Messiah. Given his other works, it's pretty easy to see that he's not just saying that. (And imagery aside, in a purely technical sense, he's really a pretty good painter.) But then, how the artist sees their art and how the audience views that art can be two completely different things. Viewers of the piece saw The Truth as an example of the very thing d'Antuono claimed to be attacking and generated so much protest that the painting had to be withdrawn until now.

What only thinks it's art?

The Barack Obama bobblehead doll that Glenn Beck, inspired by The Truth, has recently placed in a jar of what was called urine but was actually beer, called 'Obama In Pee Pee', and tried to sell on eBay for $25,000. eBay removed the listing as 'offensive material'.