Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Art - Essay Example All of these very fascinating questions are best answered by looking at what society considers â€Å"significant† or â€Å"beautiful†. From these examples, one might be able to find common characteristics between them and maybe empirically approach a theory of the good in art. This all presupposes, however, that there are objective characteristics that one can isolate and call â€Å"art† or â€Å"beauty†. It very well may be that all art and all beauty are subjective in the sense that they are nothing separate from the object placed next to the art exhibit by chance. Regardless, assuming there is some objective nature to art and beauty, there are theories of what it means for an object to be considered art. However, none of these theories seems to be sufficient to explain exactly what separates the art exhibit from the other object. An art object is an aesthetic object is designed specifically for aesthetic appeal. The question is why do human beings take the time and resources to create the aesthetically appealing art object. One way to answer this is by saying that art fulfils a basic human necessity: an instinct that requires rhythm, balance, harmony, melody, and other things from our natural existence. As an illustration of this view, the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle once wrote that art is a representation of reality. Because nature is full of change, decay, and growth, nothing remains completely constant. However, art has the ability to stand the test of time, and communicate universal themes of human life long after the artist and the society in which it was created has fallen away. Aristotle wrote, â€Å"Imitation, then, is one instinct of our nature. Next, there is the instinct for 'harmony' and rhythm, meters being manifestly sections of rhythm. Persons, therefore, starting with this natural gift developed by degrees their special aptitudes, till their rude improvisations gave birth to Poetry† (Aristotle). For instance, art made long ago by ancient peoples in the Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc, representations of rhinoceroses and other objects significant to the lives of the people who lived at that time. Although the creators of the art may have had a certain social intention in creating the representations, this psychological intuition about the purpose of art suggests that they had a basic human instinct in seeking rhythm and harmony in nature. In the works of Vermeer in particular, we see representations of daily life throughout his galleries. However, there are obvious perfections in the way that Vermeer presented these time capsules of life in 17th century Holland. For instance, Vermeer produced transparent colors by applying paint in loosely granular layers. This technique, among many, set Vermeer apart from his contemporaries because it made his artworks a perfect aesthetic representation. Because people seek art for its harmony and rhythm, they expect it to be more perfect than natur e itself, according to this theory of the purpose of art. Representation as the goal of art is a provocative theory. Another notion of art’s purpose comes from other well-known aesthetic philosophers who thought of art more as an expression of imagination than as an unconscious instinct or desire. Under this different conception,