Why is this art? What is art? These are two questions very often asked...

Art is an aesthetic object, but not just any object; the artistic object is meant to be seen and appreciated for its intrinsic value. Its special features make it a separate object, which is why it is set apart in museums, churches, or caves.

And what is meant by aesthetic?

Aesthetics is defined as concerning the beautiful.

Of course, not all art is beautiful in our eyes, but it is nonetheless art. In the absence of a better term, we have to be content with the aesthetic term, although it is subjective.

The laws of scientific inquiry in the field of visual perception are only valid when the artist also knows the theories and applies them consciously. It thus seems impossible to determine the absorbing qualities of art, and we cannot escape the need to appreciate works of art in their time, circumstance, and context, economic, political, a nd social, taking into account the aesthetic aspects of the time the artwork was produced.

Art is all around us, not only painted but in the constructions, the architecture, the megaliths, or even sculptures. Art is all around us.

The difference between an artisan and an artist is that the artisan does repeatedly one art craft, while the artists do one original piece of art, unique that nobody else had the idea before in its content or way of representation. Originality is important, and for that, we need imagination to create artworks or even be an artisan. We all dream. Imagination’s what turns the wheel; that is why creativity depends on imagination, and that makes artworks. The most imaginative, creative artwork makes it unique, and that we call creativity and arts are distinguished by the social context and originality. That is the main difference between art crafts that are manual works produced in series, and the works of art which are imagined, created, and original.

Concerning art appreciation, you may have two objectives, or you watch a historical artwork or a modern one. As I told you before, liking or not, it's subjective. It comes from your visual education and culture. Liking or not is subjective; whatever you think about the artwork, it is still an artwork, and people's tastes aren't going to change just for liking or not.

When you are appreciating a work of art, always mind the cultural and socio-economic context of the time the artist lived. Read some history of art or some historical context of the time of the piece of art. Learn a bit about the author's time and physical figure; try to put yourself in the skin of the artist. After all those factors have been taken into account, you can do a constructive critique or just appreciate the artwork correctly.

Concluding this small tutorial, we talk about what artworks are and the beautiful. The difference between art and craft. We talked about what influences us to like or not like an artwork, such as cultural factors. These are the main points to take into account of what art is and how to appreciate art. The beautiful, remember, is subjective. It depends on educational factors or aesthetic factors that make us like or not like the artwork; it depends of the all contextual background of the artist.

After reading the text, try to answer the quiz to win a symbolic badge for your achievement.