But is it ART? Possible “purposes” or characteristics of “ART”. Should it… ●imitate aspects of our environment? ●make a statement or moral comment? ●make a statement about the human condition? ●enhance our humanity? ●simply be decorative or entertaining?

Homage to the Square by Josef Albers http://www.poster.net/albers-josef/albers-josef-homage-to-the-square-8300100.jpg

2) A child’s painting http://www.pacificoaks.edu/images/childrensschool/Michael-Green-PCOS-opt.jpg

3) A mobile phone http://phonearea.net/new-gps-enabled-blackberry-curve-helps-att-customers-navigate-with-style

4) Passport photos http://www.memorykeeperphoto.com/images/passport_photo.jpg

5) “My Bed” by Tracey Emin http://www.hatii.arts.gla.ac.uk/MultimediaStudentProjects/00-01/9704524l/MM%20Project/Html/badly3.htm

6) A poem generated by a computer program Mendel's Serenade I always love my TOK class Its calling for a unique source because you are no lass do you think there is any body part I wouldn't pierce? http://www.pangloss.com/seidel/Poem

7) A play by some bloke called Shakespeare. http://www.educationworld.com/a_books/images/macbeth1.jpg

8) A font But am I art???

9) The “Napalm Girl’ photo from the Vietnam War, 1972. taken by Nick Ut. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:TrangBang.jpg

Task Bring in a piece of art to which you have a strong reaction- either positive or negative. (NB: do not use a piece of art which has been discussed or is due to be discussed in this or any other of your subjects) Explain, with reasons, your feelings about this piece. Explain whether it is indeed art or not. Why? Does it have a purpose? What is it? Which of the ‘ways of knowing’ brought you to these conclusions? DUE: Next lesson

So are we any closer to understanding or defining art? “Art is the most important thing in my life because it’s the only way I have of understanding life. I don’t have any other means of doing it other than through recording and then reconstructing it.’ Terry Smith, artist.

So are we any closer to understanding or defining art? ‘The question ‘What is art?’ still interests me although it’s not a question I ask myself when I’m working – I know it is art, I have no doubt about it because what I am doing I’m doing with the intention of it being art.’ João Penalva, artist.

So are we any closer to understanding or defining art? ‘Without art we wouldn’t have a means of reflecting on life. Art reveals what we don’t know that we know.’ Susan Hiller, artist.

So are we any closer to understanding or defining art? `Life is more important than art’ wrote James Baldwin, `that’s why art is important’ Source: E-flux, January 22 2008

What Oscar said… Every portrait that is painted with feeling is a portrait of the artist, not of the sitter. It is through art, and through art only, that we can realise our perfection. Life imitates art far more than art imitates Life. No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly. The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means. The moment you think you understand a great work of art, it's dead for you. There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. While we look to the dramatist to give romance to realism, we ask of the actor to give realism to romance. A work of art is the unique result of a unique temperament. All art is quite useless. All bad poetry springs from genuine feeling.

Maybe this sums it up… “Talking about music is like dancing about architecture” What on earth are these young fellows dancing about? (The quote’s source is disputed, but it’s often attributed to Frank Zappa)

Additional source Dancing image: http://www.madisonpubliclibrary.org/history/immigrant/dancer.gif Oscar Wilde quotes http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/o/oscar_wilde.html