What is art?

I'm looking for serious philosophical answers. How is art defined. Where is the line between art and non-art. In photography, where is the line between art and pornography. What is art to you? Describe it.

What is art?
Art is an expression of self; of one's emotion. It is also a language...looking through art at various eras through time gives us a window into the past. I love art - it's my release. The way that the pigment blends and shapes...catches the light and creates a world of imagination...
Reply:i would argue first off that pornography is art. though some may be totally uncreative and morally unacceptable it is still an expression of sex and sexuality. art to me is the expression of anything through any medium. i belief that everything in the world has the potential be regarded as art to one person or another. In this i mean that once one person regards something as a work of art it is a work of art reagrdless to whether someone else disagrees or not. its the relativity of art.
Reply:My definition of art: the creative expression of oneself through visual, musical, or literary means, or by performance.


The line between art and "non art" is not always cut and dry, however. Pornography, for instance, exists only to sexually arouse and serves no other purpose. Art, on the other hand, may end up sexually arousing people but that is not its sole intent. Michelangelo's David, for example, is believed by many to be homoerotic(especially since the artist was gay), but for others it is a creative portrayal of a human being contemplating the challenge lying ahead(defeating Goliath).
Reply:Art is the product of someones personal expression of their feelings, thoughts or emotions.





Pornography is meant to titillate, photography of the nude body may titillate but is not the main objective.





There are some things I'm not into, but I wouldn't ever say it's not art. Like most public sculpture leaves me baffled, but to each his own. I'm sure half of my work would confuse and befuddle as well.
Reply:art is the way you express yourself! mad, sad ,depressed art is life its a flower. its in every person. dance, painting ,karate all art so there you go art.that is how you find yourself,
Reply:The definitions and boundaries of art have changed just as society has changed throughout the centuries. Art is something that is created out of expressive intent- it is transcendent. However, I feel many people have abused this expressive art. For instance, one particular painter created large paintings my squirting paint out of his anus. Another female painter created her so called "vagina paintings"- I don't think I need to describe that. As much as I disagree with that, they are art. They were created with expressive intent.





When it comes to the fine line between art and pornography- that boundary has been changing for centuries. What we view as distasteful and pornographic now, may be considered beautiful expressive art in the future. As far as my personal definition of pornography v. art goes; I don't think that nudes(male or female) are pornographic. I believe that something becomes pornographic when the figures begin to masturbate, or otherwise try to get themselves or one another off.





Hope this helps. I have a great paper written on this subject, email me if you would like to read it.
Reply:Art is a way of life. You don't make art because you want to--you make it because it insists upon existing.
Reply:ART in my opinion is an expression of craftsmanship in any medium that captures the viewers attention and provokes a change in their emotion and generates an action or reaction to such "art work".





Good or Bad- reaction can be a change for the better.





Diego Rivera did murals of working class people and brought attention to the "immigrant" causes of over a hundred years ago- his art IS still fresh today with the recent world events. SO "art" is timeless, since history always repeats itself.





Pornography is not an art form. Photography however is.


A nude is only a character in the picture, when it becomes a part of the over all essence of the art work. Most graphic photos of sexual poses and such are just not artistic at all. They are just tools for perversion, like any other sexual diversion.





Don't get me wrong a beautiful nude painting or photograph when "artistic" is just as incredible as any other master piece.





Breast Cancer survivor "nudes" are raw and really stir up emotions and actions/reactions for all the right reasons! Awareness is an awakening. Art can do that for you!