art-definitions
There’s a good deal of complaint about how flat contemporary art feels. Whether the problem is the failure of artists to create great art, or the failure of audiences and journalists to recognize (or seek out) great art, or some combination, I don’t know. Whether the key culprit is that art is too shallow and decorative or that it is too... See more
Ben Davis • Unlocking the Secrets of Art That Gives You Chills | Artnet News
"A Different Order of Freedom"
More than other creative spheres — or most contemporary "industries" period - production of visual art is tied to the middle-class form of labor. In fact, put this point in a stronger way still: the contemporary artist is the tentative of middle-class creative labor par excellence. Artists function as their own
... See moreThe evolution of public art has shifted from traditional statues and monuments to a more expansive understanding of sculpture within art institutions and the broader cultural landscape. In the expanded field of sculpture, works are no longer static objects to be revered; instead, they serve as dynamic interventions that encourage participation,... See more
Article
—Fatos Üstek, The Shift From the Traditional to the Intangible in Public Art (2024)
An open distinction between 'artist' and 'artisan' will be avoided, since these terms suggest implicit hierarchies and differing levels of brilliance, whereby an artist makes highly valued objects of aesthetic pleasure, but a craftsman makes functional things with a purpose (or, crucially, things that don't look like art to European eyes).
from p17
Art feels like an expression of creativity for the sake of beauty or emotion whereas content can do that as a secondary purpose but usually has a primary function - financial, educational, visibility etc
X. It’s what’s happening
I’ve never liked words slapped on a work of art. Titian, for example, didn’t need to add lyrics from “Volare” to his Assumption of the Virgin. Form and color are the basic tools, and if the artist can’t deliver his message without them, the message might very well be defective or trite, or the artist’s lazy or, thinking as a marketeer, wants to... See more
The word Gesamtkunstwerk is often used to describe the Aalto House and other buildings they designed. It’s a work that uses multiple disciplines—like architecture, furniture design, textile design—to produce a coherent, total work of art.
a softer, gentler modernism: on alvar & aino aalto
Yeah. But I’m not sure any of this is about ownership, it’s more about what it brings to you, the memories it triggers. I don’t see us as collectors at all. We never buy for monetary reasons, what’s important is the emotional attachment. That’s the thing about art: it’s inspiring, and it also triggers feeling.