So many interesting thoughts on Art

I found a great article in the AIGA web site about the difference between art and design. What’s even more interesting are the many comments you can read at the end about what real art should be. Here are some that I liked : 

- One cannot portray ideas and emotions in the modern art world being swayed by the preceding works of the artist before him or her, yet in order to express new thought an artist has to carefully step through a field of what has already been accomplished. (…) the artist needs to fill the holes that the predecessors had not. (…) The artist needs to balance a new school of thought based on prior and present inquiries without trespassing on the questions that have already been answered. - by T. O’Meara

- I disagree with T O’Meara’s post, because eventually and inevitably, all ideas will have been explored. i appreciate the irresponsibly spontaneity of someone who makes their art without considering past or future trends. architects did this in the early 1900s, youth culture did this in the 60s. both movements were reacting against something, rather than carefully deciding how to fit in amongst existing circumstances. you don’t need to evaluate what’s been done – you have to ignore it, or react against it, to come up with something completely new. – by Anonymous

- Artists create artwork (just as in the Renaissance) for commissions, for shows, for political reasons – the point of being an artist is to create something to be seen. There is always an audience. Whether the artist is creating a piece of work for a single friend or a widely publicized opening, there is someone looking at it and interpreting it. Artists speak to people through their work, and typically how well they do that determines how successful of a career they have. So, in my opinion, artists are designers and designers are artists. There are career choices that tend to separate us and force us to label ourselves one or the other, but our purpose, our methods, and our reasons all are the same – we have to do what we do, we do not have a choice – we have to create to live. – by Katie Fillingim

- The processes of the two [design and art] can be quite similar, the results may look quite a bit alike, both are done for an audience and often for money. But despite all that, they function much differently. Design solves problems. Art asks questions. - by Evan

Add comment December 16th, 2008