Art, they say, is in the eye of the beholder. Which is a nice way of saying it’s whatever you want it to be. But I don’t believe that.
Photo credit: Mark Heard (Creative Commons)
Although I don’t have an objective perspective (nobody does), and mine is but one opinion, I believe there is such a thing as good and bad art.
Maybe that’s asking too much, for us to label art “good” or “bad,” or maybe that feels too restrictive. That’s fine, I suppose; I don’t want to impose my artistic standards on someone else, nor would I appreciate having it the other way around.
But what is not okay is calling something “art” when it’s not — when it is, in fact, something else.
Art versus entertainment
My friend Stephen pointed out recently, quoting Makoto Fujimura I think, that the difference between art and entertainment is subtle, but important:
Beautiful and nice
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