What is Art?
Journal Entry: Thursday, March 7, 2024
What is art? What is the ‘art of’ something? What makes something artful or done with artfulness?
As a category called the humanities we usually think of art as ‘the arts’: Human history, philosophy, music, painting, architecture, poetry, literature, linguistics, dance, sculpture, etc. It is the study of human imagination, creativity, skill and craft and the mental constructs of humanity. It is the stories we tell ourselves as a species about ourselves and the world we find ourselves in. Most of what we tell ourselves is theoretical, made up; an invented, crafted narrative, a mental construct communicated by word, by image, by space, by sound and movement.
Humans tend to unquestioningly accept most of this construct and embrace it by default. We all do. We are all taught from birth how to live in this construct. But some portion of us is continuously engaged in exploring and tinkering with the construct or what I would call the Massurreality – the overarching mind world of humanity held together through mass communication among ourselves - that gives us the ability to dream and act together in a coordinated, communal way.
We are all inclined to participate in only certain parts of the whole construct because there are constructs within constructs, systems within systems, ideas within ideas, all intertwined and interdependent even when filled with contradiction and conflict. When explored, one can get lost for a lifetime in the endless minutia and marginalia of the mental constructs of humanity. It is endlessly fascinating and endless in scope. It extends from the design of a spoon to the mystical depths of the human heart.
Hence, what is Art?
Art itself is a part of this human mental construct. It is the part where all of the questioning and experimentation happens, where humans try to figure out who we are, what we are doing and how we go about doing it in the best way possible based on the circumstances we find ourselves in. The arts are the very core of all human aspirations and expressions preserved though continuous practice generation after generation. It is through the artifacts of art that our evolving culture, knowledge, and heritage are passed down through the generations like a torch in the darkness of human ignorance. Art is how we discover, know, and remember ourselves.
What is the art of something?
The ‘art of’ something is to know a thing so thoroughly and deeply that, as a practitioner, one just ’knows’ intuitively what to do under any conditions to make the best of every problem. This means that one has a deep knowledge and extensive, immersive practice at the thing to the extent that it is ‘second nature’ which is an acquired deeply ingrained set of knowledge and skills. This allows for creative synthesis – to take the many parts of knowledge and combine them into a unique solution. This can be in any field and often times masters in any field will be thought of as an artist at their work.
What makes something artful?
Artfulness or being artful is an interesting word because it not only means intelligent skillfulness but also is associated with being devious, underhanded or deceptive. This calls to mind the statement by Pablo Picasso:
“We all know that Art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realize truth, at least the truth that is given us to understand. The artist must know the manner whereby to convince others of the truthfulness of his lies.”
Art practitioners know that everything that we create is a fiction even if we are trying to be documentary in our approach. As artists we are confronted daily with our limitations and the limitations of our mediums. The best that we can hope for is an artful telling of our story that, in its patterns, is as authentic to what is true for us as we are able to express. That is artfulness, to embed the truth we wish to tell in the very fabric of our artful fiction. As suggested in the opening of the Tao Te Ching:
The tao that can be told
is not the eternal Tao.
The name that can be named
is not the eternal Name.
The unnamable is the eternally real.
Naming is the origin
of all particular things.
Free from desire, you realize the mystery.
Caught in desire, you see only the manifestations.
Yet mystery and manifestations
arise from the same source.
This source is called darkness.
Darkness within darkness.
The gateway to all understanding.
Tao Te Ching A New English Version with Foreword and Notes by Stephen Mitchell
Constructing Your Narrative
Sit down and ask yourself: ‘What is my story?’ ‘What is driving me?’ I ask myself these questions even after 50+ years. Our narrative is ongoing and continuous and can take new twists and turns at any moment as we go along our trail. I think of myself as ‘walking a nameless path that opens b…
"But some portion of us is continuously engaged in exploring and tinkering with the construct or what I would call the Massurreality – the overarching mind world of humanity held together through mass communication among ourselves - that gives us the ability to dream and act together in a coordinated, communal way." This is very interesting and extremely well expressed. And thank you for sharing the term Massurreality.