Work of art
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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+ | [[Image:Marcel Duchamp Fountain, 1917, photograph by Alfred Stieglitz at 291 art gallery following the 1917 Society of Independent Artists exhibit, with entry tag visible. The backdrop is The Warriors by Marsden Hartley..jpg|thumb|left|200px|''[[Fountain (Duchamp)|Fountain]]'' (1917) by Marcel Duchamp]] | ||
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+ | "That there is a [[object|physical object]] that can be identified as ''[[Ulysses (novel)|Ulysses]]'' or ''[[Der Rosenkavalier]]'' is not a view that can long survive the demand that we should pick out or point to that object." -- Richard Wollheim, ''[[Art and Its Objects]]'', p.4 | ||
+ | <hr> | ||
+ | "A [[work of art]] is a thing [[Authorial intent|intended]] for regard-as-a-work-of-art: regard in any of the [[art history|ways works of art existing prior to it]] have been correctly regarded." --"[[Defining Art Historically]]", 1979, Jerrold Levinson | ||
+ | |} | ||
+ | [[Image:Mona Lisa Smoking a Pipe.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Mona Lisa Smoking a Pipe]]'' by Eugène Bataille]] | ||
[[Image:Ancient Rome (1757) by Giovanni Paolo Panini.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Ancient Rome (painting)|Ancient Rome]]'' (1757) by [[Giovanni Paolo Panini]]]] | [[Image:Ancient Rome (1757) by Giovanni Paolo Panini.jpg|thumb|right|200px|''[[Ancient Rome (painting)|Ancient Rome]]'' (1757) by [[Giovanni Paolo Panini]]]] | ||
+ | [[Image:A pair of shoes by Van Gogh F255.jpg|thumb|200px|right|''[[A pair of shoes by Vincent van Gogh, Paris, 1886]]''. [[Martin Heidegger]] mentions this particular work in ''[[The Origin of the Work of Art]]'' as an example of a painting that reveals ([[aletheia]]) a whole world.]] | ||
{{Template}} | {{Template}} | ||
- | A '''work of art''', '''artwork''', '''art piece''', '''piece of art''' is an [[aesthetic]] [[Physical body|physical item]] or [[art]]istic creation. Apart from "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as [[art]] in its widest sense, including works from [[literature]] and music, these terms apply principally to tangible, portable forms of [[Visual arts|visual art]]: | + | A '''work of art''', '''artwork''', '''art piece''', '''piece of art''' is an [[aesthetic]] [[Physical object|physical item]] or [[art]]istic creation. Apart from "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as [[art]] in its widest sense, including works from [[literature]] and music, these terms apply principally to tangible, portable forms of [[Visual arts|visual art]]: |
*An example of [[fine art]], such as a [[painting]] or sculpture | *An example of [[fine art]], such as a [[painting]] or sculpture | ||
*An object that has been designed specifically for its aesthetic appeal, such as a piece of jewelry | *An object that has been designed specifically for its aesthetic appeal, such as a piece of jewelry | ||
*An object that has been designed for aesthetic appeal as well as functional purpose, as in [[interior design]] and much [[folk art]] | *An object that has been designed for aesthetic appeal as well as functional purpose, as in [[interior design]] and much [[folk art]] | ||
- | *An object created for principally or entirely functional, religious or other non-aesthetic reasons which has come to be appreciated as art (often later, and/or by [[Culture|cultural]] outsiders) | + | *An object created for principally or entirely functional, religious or other non-aesthetic reasons which has come to be appreciated as art (often later, and/or by [[cultural outsider]]s) |
*A non-ephemeral [[photograph]], [[film]] or visual [[computer program]], such as a [[video game]] or [[computer animation]] | *A non-ephemeral [[photograph]], [[film]] or visual [[computer program]], such as a [[video game]] or [[computer animation]] | ||
*A work of [[installation art]] or [[conceptual art]]. | *A work of [[installation art]] or [[conceptual art]]. | ||
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==Distinctions== | ==Distinctions== | ||
+ | :''[[nature of art]]'' | ||
Some [[Art criticism|art theorist]]s and writers have long made a distinction between the [[physical art|physical qualities of an art object]] and its identity-status as an artwork. For example, a painting by [[Rembrandt]] has a physical existence as an "oil painting on canvas" that is separate from its identity as a [[masterpiece]] "work of art" or the artist's [[magnum opus]]. Many works of art are initially denied "museum quality" or [[artistic merit]], and later become accepted and valued in museum and private collections. Works by the [[Impressionists]] and non-representational [[abstract art]]ists are examples. Some, such as the [[Readymades of Marcel Duchamp|"Readymades" of Marcel Duchamp]] including his infamous '''urinal'' "[[Fountain (Duchamp)|Fountain]]'", are later reproduced as "museum quality replicas". | Some [[Art criticism|art theorist]]s and writers have long made a distinction between the [[physical art|physical qualities of an art object]] and its identity-status as an artwork. For example, a painting by [[Rembrandt]] has a physical existence as an "oil painting on canvas" that is separate from its identity as a [[masterpiece]] "work of art" or the artist's [[magnum opus]]. Many works of art are initially denied "museum quality" or [[artistic merit]], and later become accepted and valued in museum and private collections. Works by the [[Impressionists]] and non-representational [[abstract art]]ists are examples. Some, such as the [[Readymades of Marcel Duchamp|"Readymades" of Marcel Duchamp]] including his infamous '''urinal'' "[[Fountain (Duchamp)|Fountain]]'", are later reproduced as "museum quality replicas". | ||
- | There is an indefinite distinction, for current or historical aesthetic items: between "[[fine art]]" objects made by "[[artist]]s"; and [[folk art]], [[Arts and crafts|craft-work]], or "[[Applied arts|applied art]]" objects made by "first, second, or third-world" [[designer]]s, [[artisan]]s and [[craftsmen|craftspeople]]. Contemporary and archeological [[Visual arts by indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous art]], [[industrial design]] items in limited or [[mass production]], and places created by [[environmental design]]ers and [[cultural landscape]]s, are some examples. The term has been consistently available for debate, reconsideration, and redefinition. | + | There is an indefinite distinction, for current or historical aesthetic items: between "[[fine art]]" objects made by "[[artist]]s"; and [[folk art]], [[Arts and crafts|craft-work]], or "[[Applied arts|applied art]]" objects made by "first, second, or third-world" [[designer]]s, [[artisan]]s and [[craftsmen|craftspeople]]. Contemporary and archeological [[indigenous art]], [[industrial design]] items in limited or [[mass production]], and places created by [[environmental design]]ers and [[cultural landscape]]s, are some examples. The term has been consistently available for debate, reconsideration, and redefinition. |
- | + | ||
- | == See also == | + | |
- | * [[Anti-art]] | + | |
- | * [[Cultural artifact]] | + | |
- | * [[Outline of aesthetics]] | + | |
- | * [[The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction]] | + | |
- | * [[Western canon]] | + | |
==Further reading== | ==Further reading== | ||
*[[Richard Wollheim]], ''[[Art and Its Objects]]'', 2nd ed., 1980, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-29706-0. The classic philosophical enquiry into what a work of art is. | *[[Richard Wollheim]], ''[[Art and Its Objects]]'', 2nd ed., 1980, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-29706-0. The classic philosophical enquiry into what a work of art is. | ||
+ | |||
== See also == | == See also == | ||
- | *[[Authorial intentionality]] | + | * [[Anti-art]] |
- | *[[Creative work]] | + | * [[Authorial intentionality]] |
- | * [[Oeuvre]] | + | * [[Creative work]] |
+ | * [[Cultural artifact]] | ||
* [[Fine art]] | * [[Fine art]] | ||
* [[Cultural artifact]] | * [[Cultural artifact]] | ||
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* ''[[The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction]]'' | * ''[[The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction]]'' | ||
* [[Magnum opus]] | * [[Magnum opus]] | ||
+ | * [[Oeuvre]] | ||
+ | * [[Outline of aesthetics]] | ||
* [[Seminal work]] | * [[Seminal work]] | ||
* [[Western canon]] | * [[Western canon]] | ||
{{GFDL}} | {{GFDL}} |
Current revision
![Fountain (1917) by Marcel Duchamp](/images/thumb/200px-Marcel_Duchamp_Fountain,_1917,_photograph_by_Alfred_Stieglitz_at_291_art_gallery_following_the_1917_Society_of_Independent_Artists_exhibit,_with_entry_tag_visible._The_backdrop_is_The_Warriors_by_Marsden_Hartley..jpg)
"That there is a physical object that can be identified as Ulysses or Der Rosenkavalier is not a view that can long survive the demand that we should pick out or point to that object." -- Richard Wollheim, Art and Its Objects, p.4 "A work of art is a thing intended for regard-as-a-work-of-art: regard in any of the ways works of art existing prior to it have been correctly regarded." --"Defining Art Historically", 1979, Jerrold Levinson |
![Mona Lisa Smoking a Pipe by Eugène Bataille](/images/thumb/200px-Mona_Lisa_Smoking_a_Pipe.jpg)
![A pair of shoes by Vincent van Gogh, Paris, 1886. Martin Heidegger mentions this particular work in The Origin of the Work of Art as an example of a painting that reveals (aletheia) a whole world.](/images/thumb/200px-A_pair_of_shoes_by_Van_Gogh_F255.jpg)
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A work of art, artwork, art piece, piece of art is an aesthetic physical item or artistic creation. Apart from "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature and music, these terms apply principally to tangible, portable forms of visual art:
- An example of fine art, such as a painting or sculpture
- An object that has been designed specifically for its aesthetic appeal, such as a piece of jewelry
- An object that has been designed for aesthetic appeal as well as functional purpose, as in interior design and much folk art
- An object created for principally or entirely functional, religious or other non-aesthetic reasons which has come to be appreciated as art (often later, and/or by cultural outsiders)
- A non-ephemeral photograph, film or visual computer program, such as a video game or computer animation
- A work of installation art or conceptual art.
Used more broadly, the term is less commonly applied to:
- A fine work of architecture or landscape design
- A production of live performance, such as theater, ballet, opera, performance art, musical concert and other performing arts, and other ephemeral, non-tangible creations.
This article is concerned with the terms and concept as used in and applied to the visual arts, although other fields such as aural-music and written word-literature have similar issues and philosophies. The terms objet d′art or art object are is reserved to describe works of art that are not paintings, prints, drawings or large or medium-sized sculptures, or architecture (e.g. household goods, figurines, etc., some purely aesthetic, some also practical). The term oeuvre is used to describe the complete body of work completed by an artist throughout a career.
Contents |
Definition
A work of art in the visual arts is a physical two- or three- dimensional object that is professionally determined or other wise considered to fulfill a primarily independent aesthetic function. A singular art object is often seen in the context of a larger art movement or artistic era, such as: a genre, aesthetic convention, culture, or regional-national distinction. It can also be seen as an item within an artist's "body of work" or oeuvre. The term is commonly used by: museum and cultural heritage curators, the interested public, the art patron-private art collector community, and art galleries.
Physical objects that document immaterial or conceptual art works, but do not conform to artistic conventions can be redefined and reclassified as art objects. Some Dada and Neo-Dada conceptual and readymade works have received later inclusion. Also, some architectural renderings and models of unbuilt projects, such as by Vitruvius, Leonardo da Vinci, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Frank Gehry, are other examples.
The products of environmental design, depending on intention and execution, can be "works of art" and include: land art, site-specific art, architecture, gardens, landscape architecture, installation art, rock art, and megalithic monuments.
Theories
Marcel Duchamp critiqued the idea that the work of art should be a unique product of an artist's labour, representational of their technical skill and/or artistic caprice. Theorists have argued that objects and people do not have a constant meaning, but their meanings are fashioned by humans in the context of their culture, as they have the ability to make things mean or signify something.
Distinctions
Some art theorists and writers have long made a distinction between the physical qualities of an art object and its identity-status as an artwork. For example, a painting by Rembrandt has a physical existence as an "oil painting on canvas" that is separate from its identity as a masterpiece "work of art" or the artist's magnum opus. Many works of art are initially denied "museum quality" or artistic merit, and later become accepted and valued in museum and private collections. Works by the Impressionists and non-representational abstract artists are examples. Some, such as the "Readymades" of Marcel Duchamp including his infamous 'urinal "Fountain'", are later reproduced as "museum quality replicas".
There is an indefinite distinction, for current or historical aesthetic items: between "fine art" objects made by "artists"; and folk art, craft-work, or "applied art" objects made by "first, second, or third-world" designers, artisans and craftspeople. Contemporary and archeological indigenous art, industrial design items in limited or mass production, and places created by environmental designers and cultural landscapes, are some examples. The term has been consistently available for debate, reconsideration, and redefinition.
Further reading
- Richard Wollheim, Art and Its Objects, 2nd ed., 1980, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-29706-0. The classic philosophical enquiry into what a work of art is.
See also
- Anti-art
- Authorial intentionality
- Creative work
- Cultural artifact
- Fine art
- Cultural artifact
- Masterpiece
- Aesthetics
- The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction
- Magnum opus
- Oeuvre
- Outline of aesthetics
- Seminal work
- Western canon