ec2-44-220-251-236.compute-1.amazonaws.com | ToothyWiki | RecentChanges | Login | Webcomic A kind of Stuff. Very little beyond this can be objectively stated; indeed, even this description is incomplete, as things like a movement are on occasion said to be not just artistic but Art.
Displayed in ArtGalleries?, such as TateBritain?, TateModern, TateLiverpool?, TateStIves?, or in online galleries, such as [TateOnline].* Art has no intrinsic value for survival, rather it lends value to survival, I forget the exact quote. --Edith.
DouglasReay has been reading a live journal discussion on this by [Azekeil] and [Gerald the Duck]. It is interesting observing the strategies being used to arrive at a definition of what is or is not Art. Some have a categorisation approach. They consider test cases, each of which they have to place in an Art box or a Not Art box, then they look for a definition that produces the same results. Others start with a definition, from lingistics, or from observing what artists or art collectors do, or from what they think art's role in society should be. Then they take that definition and use it to decide whether they view something as art or not.
I think things might be fuzzier than that. Perhaps there are different functional definitions of the term "Art" depending on the context in which it is being used. Perhaps "Art" and "A work of art" are not interchangable concepts. Perhaps it is a scale, where everything is art, but some bits of Stuff are only 1% art and others are 99% art. Perhaps there are multiple scales. One scale on the amount of artistic creativity that went into the object/performance/work. One scale measuring artistic richness - does it poorly whisper an obvious message to a few, or does it manage to convey with great clarity a subtle yet life changing message to many varied recipients with great intensity. Perhaps other scales to say whether it has meaning without additional context, or if it only has merit because of the interpretation placed upon it rather than the intent of the creator. To measure the impact the work has had in the ongoing dialog of Art. Does it communicate, and how closely does what it communicates match what the artist intended?