The question of what art is is both easy and difficult to answer. The easiest way is to say: art is fiction, painting, sculpture, music, cinema, theater, architecture. But this is not the answer, but only a list of different types of art. It is much more difficult to give a logical definition, to point to the common that underlies all these types.
We can say that art is an aesthetic activity of a person. Whether he writes a novel or a painting, dances in a ballet or designs a monument, he creates aesthetic values. This is more like a definition.
However, it immediately raises an immediate question: what does aesthetic activity mean? We can decipher our definition by explaining that aesthetic activity is carried out according to the laws of beauty, aimed at creating beauty and arousing positive emotions. And this will be generally true, but again somewhat vague. After all, the desire for beauty is manifested in science, in work, and in everyday life. Any creativity in the broad sense of the word is creativity according to the laws of beauty. As for emotions – excitement, joy, admiration, laughter, compassion, they are known to be caused not only by art. These remarks are serious, and we will return to them later.
But on the other hand, isn’t everything in art always beautiful? Doesn’t it show us ugly and repulsive at every step?
The answer to this is relatively easy: there is no need to mix the subject reflected in art with the work of art itself. There is a famous saying: “To paint a beautiful old man and to paint an old man well are not the same thing”. A work of art can have as its subject any ugly phenomena of reality, but remain beautiful. Beautiful in its understanding and appreciation of the ugly, in its expressiveness, in the harmony of its elements. The characters of “The Inspector” are insignificant, but the comedy “The Inspector” as a work of art is beautiful.
Beauty and truth
In general, beauty in life and in nature does not mean cuteness, pleasantness. It is something more – strength of spirit, harmony, depth of understanding. In art, beauty is inseparable from inner truth, character. Sculptor Rodin said it well: “In art, only the characteristic is beautiful. Character is the deep truth of any phenomenon of nature, whether it is beautiful or ugly”.
Thus, works of art (true, genuine) are aesthetic values, regardless of whether the beautiful or ugly phenomena of life are reflected in them. The aesthetic value of works of art is determined by the degree of inner truth, that is, the quality of reflection. But if so, then it is necessary to supplement our primary definition of art as an aesthetic activity with the concept of reflection. Art is an aesthetic reflection of reality.
This, by the way, will answer the objection of our imaginary interlocutor that aesthetic values are acquired not only by art. And it is true. There is beauty in mathematics, in car design, in sports, in chess, and in many other things that people do. But only in art is beauty associated with a broad aesthetic reflection of life. A chess game is elegant in itself and in itself: it does not tell us about anything else but itself. Gymnastic exercises are also beautiful, but the gymnast does not tell us about anything – he only acts within the limits of his sports task. Where is the fine line that separates gymnastics from art – for example, such a close art as ballet? It passes, perhaps, where the plastic movements of the body begin to convey some meaning, to tell about something. A ballerina does not just dance – she dances a girl in love, a dying swan, an evil sorceress, joy, sorrow. Here aesthetic action turns into aesthetic reflection, here art begins.
It is the same in architecture or in applied art. We will say about one building that it is just a house, a piece of construction equipment, – even if it is built well. Another one – that it is a work of art, because it not only protects people from the environment, but also tells us about the tastes, customs, ideals of people and the time in which they live.