CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html class="client-nojs" lang="en" dir="ltr"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"/> <title>Art - RationalWiki</title> <script>document.documentElement.className="client-js";RLCONF={"wgBreakFrames":!1,"wgSeparatorTransformTable":["",""],"wgDigitTransformTable":["",""],"wgDefaultDateFormat":"dmy","wgMonthNames":["","January","February","March","April","May","June","July","August","September","October","November","December"],"wgRequestId":"Z_UE-vcumRuCAYNwue9v2wAAAUA","wgCSPNonce":!1,"wgCanonicalNamespace":"","wgCanonicalSpecialPageName":!1,"wgNamespaceNumber":0,"wgPageName":"Art","wgTitle":"Art","wgCurRevisionId":2621821,"wgRevisionId":2621821,"wgArticleId":75913,"wgIsArticle":!0,"wgIsRedirect":!1,"wgAction":"view","wgUserName":null,"wgUserGroups":["*"],"wgCategories":["Culture","Arts"],"wgPageContentLanguage":"en","wgPageContentModel":"wikitext","wgRelevantPageName":"Art","wgRelevantArticleId":75913,"wgIsProbablyEditable":!0,"wgRelevantPageIsProbablyEditable":!0,"wgRestrictionEdit":[],"wgRestrictionMove":[],"wgMediaViewerOnClick":!0,"wgMediaViewerEnabledByDefault":!0};RLSTATE={ "site.styles":"ready","noscript":"ready","user.styles":"ready","user":"ready","user.options":"loading","ext.cite.styles":"ready","skins.vector.styles.legacy":"ready","mediawiki.toc.styles":"ready"};RLPAGEMODULES=["ext.cite.ux-enhancements","site","mediawiki.page.startup","mediawiki.page.ready","mediawiki.toc","skins.vector.legacy.js","ext.gadget.ReferenceTooltips","mmv.head","mmv.bootstrap.autostart"];</script> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.loader.implement("user.options@1hzgi",function($,jQuery,require,module){/*@nomin*/mw.user.tokens.set({"patrolToken":"+\\","watchToken":"+\\","csrfToken":"+\\"}); });});</script> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=ext.cite.styles%7Cmediawiki.toc.styles%7Cskins.vector.styles.legacy&only=styles&skin=vector"/> <script async="" src="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=startup&only=scripts&raw=1&skin=vector"></script> <meta name="ResourceLoaderDynamicStyles" content=""/> <link rel="stylesheet" href="/w/load.php?lang=en&modules=site.styles&only=styles&skin=vector"/> <meta name="generator" content="MediaWiki 1.35.6"/> <meta name="description" content="Art is a creative endeavor that can be cynically defined as, "Whatever you can get away with,"&#91;note 1&#93; or more objectively as the creation of works called "art" by their creators. A more formal definition would state that art requires intentionality on the part of the creator to make some form of statement or to move a person emotionally.&#91;note 2&#93;"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/x-wiki" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Art&action=edit"/> <link rel="edit" title="Edit" href="/w/index.php?title=Art&action=edit"/> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/favicon.ico"/> <link rel="search" type="application/opensearchdescription+xml" href="/w/opensearch_desc.php" title="RationalWiki (en)"/> <link rel="EditURI" type="application/rsd+xml" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/api.php?action=rsd"/> <link rel="license" href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyrights"/> <link rel="alternate" type="application/atom+xml" title="RationalWiki Atom feed" href="/w/index.php?title=Special:RecentChanges&feed=atom"/> <meta property="og:type" content="article"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="RationalWiki"/> <meta property="og:title" content="Art"/> <meta property="og:description" content="Art is a creative endeavor that can be cynically defined as, "Whatever you can get away with,"&#91;note 1&#93; or more objectively as the creation of works called "art" by their creators. A more formal definition would state that art requires intentionality on the part of the creator to make some form of statement or to move a person emotionally.&#91;note 2&#93;"/> <meta property="og:url" content="https://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Art"/>  </head> <body class="mediawiki ltr sitedir-ltr mw-hide-empty-elt ns-0 ns-subject mw-editable page-Art rootpage-Art skin-vector action-view minerva--history-page-action-enabled skin-vector-legacy"> <div id="mw-page-base" class="noprint"></div> <div id="mw-head-base" class="noprint"></div> <div id="content" class="mw-body" role="main"> <a id="top"></a> <div id="siteNotice" class="mw-body-content"><div id="localNotice" lang="en" dir="ltr"><div id="2025_RationalWiki_.27Oregon_Plan.27_Fundraiser"> <table role="presentation" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto; width: 100%;"> <tbody><tr> <td style="width: 60%; text-align: left;"><big><center><b><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">2025 RationalWiki 'Oregon Plan' Fundraiser</a></b></center></big> <p><b>There is no RationalWiki without you.</b> We are a small non-profit with no staff—we are hundreds of volunteers who document pseudoscience and crankery around the world every day. We will never allow ads because we must remain independent. We cannot rely on big donors with corresponding big agendas. We are not the largest website around, but <a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">we believe we play an important role in defending truth and objectivity</a>. </p> </td> <td style="width: 40%; text-align: center;"><big><b><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser">Fighting pseudoscience isn't free</a>.<br />We are 100% user-supported! Help and donate $5, $10, $20 or whatever you can today with <img alt="PayPal Logo.png" src="/w/images/thumb/f/fb/PayPal_Logo.png/61px-PayPal_Logo.png" decoding="async" width="61" height="17" srcset="/w/images/thumb/f/fb/PayPal_Logo.png/92px-PayPal_Logo.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/f/fb/PayPal_Logo.png/122px-PayPal_Logo.png 2x" data-file-width="883" data-file-height="244" />!</b></big><a href="https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=67BJMQC85CUFW" title="Donate via PayPal" rel="nofollow"><img alt="" src="/w/images/thumb/1/10/DonateButton.png/100px-DonateButton.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="32" srcset="/w/images/thumb/1/10/DonateButton.png/150px-DonateButton.png 1.5x, /w/images/thumb/1/10/DonateButton.png/200px-DonateButton.png 2x" data-file-width="759" data-file-height="241" /></a> </td></tr></tbody></table> <div role="progressbar" style="width: 100%; border: 2px solid black; position: relative; padding: 2px; border-radius: 18px;"> <a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser"><span style="text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, -1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF; color: black; font-size: 125%; position: absolute; left: 0%; margin: 0 0 0 10px"><b>Donations so far: $8765.50</b></span></a><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Fundraiser" title="RationalWiki:Fundraiser"><span style="text-shadow: -1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px -1px 0 #FFFFFF, -1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF, 1px 1px 0 #FFFFFF; color: black; font-size: 125%; position: absolute; right: 0%; margin: 0 10px 0 0"><b>Goal: $10000</b></span></a><div style="height: 28px; border-radius: 14px; background-color: hsl(70.124,100%,45%); width: 87.655%;"></div> </div></div></div></div> <div class="mw-indicators mw-body-content"> </div> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading" lang="en">Art</h1> <div id="bodyContent" class="mw-body-content"> <div id="siteSub" class="noprint">From RationalWiki</div> <div id="contentSub"></div> <div id="contentSub2"></div> <div id="jump-to-nav"></div> <a class="mw-jump-link" href="#mw-head">Jump to navigation</a> <a class="mw-jump-link" href="#searchInput">Jump to search</a> <div id="mw-content-text" lang="en" dir="ltr" class="mw-content-ltr"><div class="mw-parser-output"><div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:167px;"><a href="/wiki/File:%27White_Terrier%27,_polychromed_wood_sculpture_by_Jeff_Koons,_1988.JPG" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/%27White_Terrier%27%2C_polychromed_wood_sculpture_by_Jeff_Koons%2C_1988.JPG/250px-%27White_Terrier%27%2C_polychromed_wood_sculpture_by_Jeff_Koons%2C_1988.JPG" decoding="async" width="165" height="257" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/%27White_Terrier%27%2C_polychromed_wood_sculpture_by_Jeff_Koons%2C_1988.JPG/330px-%27White_Terrier%27%2C_polychromed_wood_sculpture_by_Jeff_Koons%2C_1988.JPG 2x" data-file-width="1260" data-file-height="1965" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:%27White_Terrier%27,_polychromed_wood_sculpture_by_Jeff_Koons,_1988.JPG" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Jeff Koons' "White Terrier": Whatever you can get away with</div></div></div> <p><b>Art</b> is a creative endeavor that can be cynically defined as, "<b>Whatever you can get away with,</b>"<sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1">[note 1]</a></sup> or more objectively as the creation of works called "art" by their creators. A more formal definition would state that art requires intentionality on the part of the creator to make some form of statement or to move a person emotionally.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[note 2]</a></sup> </p><p>An artist is a non-<a href="/wiki/Genetic" class="mw-redirect" title="Genetic">genetic</a> <a href="/wiki/Mutation" title="Mutation">mutation</a> of <i><a href="/wiki/Human" title="Human">Homo sapiens</a></i> who tends to be either respected or despised by other members of the human species. </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Various_views_of_art"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Various views of art</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#Religion.2C_tradition.2C_and_society_vs._art"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Religion, tradition, and society vs. art</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-3"><a href="#Religion_vs._art"><span class="tocnumber">2.1</span> <span class="toctext">Religion vs. art</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-4"><a href="#Society_vs._art"><span class="tocnumber">2.2</span> <span class="toctext">Society vs. art</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-5"><a href="#Examples_of_Art"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">Examples of Art</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Various_views_of_art">Various views of art</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Art&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Various views of art">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>In the most general sense, art is whatever the "artist" says it is. Any attempt to define art often prompts a great <a href="/wiki/Debate" title="Debate">debate</a>. To some people, labeling something as "art" is a question of talent and skill — and the <i>quality</i> of the ultimate product produced. The problem with this definition is that it would include reproductions (i.e., forging) of a pre-existing piece of art. Of course, this is not a problem for some, who think that there is a real art to making quality reproductions. </p><p>But this view of "art as product" removes artist and message. The second group of people would insist that art cannot be evaluated or defined on skill and precision alone.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[note 3]</a></sup> For this school of thought, it is the message, be it emotional or intellectual, that matters to art. For these people, the quantifiable skill of an artist (to draw with technical strokes, write in a grammatically correct structure, or sing beautifully) is not nearly as important as the artist's message. This view has historically been at odds with proponents of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_for_art%27s_sake" class="extiw" title="wp:Art for art's sake" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Art for art's sake"><i>l'art pour l'art</i></span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> (<a href="/wiki/French" class="mw-redirect" title="French">French</a> for <i>art for art's sake</i>). </p><p><a href="/wiki/Science" title="Science">Science</a> has even jumped into the fray a bit, providing definitions and explanations about "fine art" such as the study of how our eye is drawn to a piece, the golden ratios, and <a href="/wiki/MRI" title="MRI">MRI</a> studies of the mind when seeing a piece of art giving us insight into what art is, even if science, <a href="/wiki/Philosophy" title="Philosophy">philosophy</a>, or anyone else can't actually define it. </p> <h2><span id="Religion,_tradition,_and_society_vs._art"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="Religion.2C_tradition.2C_and_society_vs._art">Religion, tradition, and society vs. art</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Art&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Religion, tradition, and society vs. art">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Since artists or their agents often use art as a way to challenge the way people see and understand things, it frequently comes into conflict with people or institutions that do not want "understanding" challenged, often resulting in <a href="/wiki/Book_burning" title="Book burning">bans</a>, <a href="/wiki/Censorship" title="Censorship">censorship</a>, or defunding of <a href="/wiki/Tax" title="Tax">tax</a>-funded arts programs on the grounds that they don't make <a href="/wiki/Money" title="Money">money</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4">[note 4]</a></sup> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Religion_vs._art">Religion vs. art</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Art&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Religion vs. art">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <p>Established <a href="/wiki/Religion" title="Religion">religion</a> has often hated art when it cannot control the message. Some famous conflicts include: </p> <ul><li><i>The <a href="/wiki/Satanic_Verses" title="Satanic Verses">Satanic Verses</a></i> (1988), by <a href="/wiki/Salman_Rushdie" title="Salman Rushdie">Salman Rushdie</a>. Rushdie fictionalized the so-called "missing verses" of the <a href="/wiki/Qu%27ran" class="mw-redirect" title="Qu'ran">Qu'ran</a> — verses which supposedly show <a href="/wiki/Mohammad" class="mw-redirect" title="Mohammad">Mohammad</a> praying to <a href="/wiki/Pagan" class="mw-redirect" title="Pagan">pagan</a> goddesses. The <a href="/wiki/Islam" title="Islam">Islamic</a> community went nuts, not just banning the book, but <a href="/wiki/Fatwa" title="Fatwa">calling for Rushdie's head</a>.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jyllands-Posten_Muhammad_cartoons" title="Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons">Cartoon depictions of Mohammed</a> - In 2005, a <a href="/wiki/Danish" class="mw-redirect" title="Danish">Danish</a> paper released an editorial cartoon depicting Mohammad. The Islamic world again went nuts, demanding removal of the images and an apology. Instead, many of the world's professional cartoonists put out their own image, supporting the right of <a href="/wiki/Political" class="mw-redirect" title="Political">political</a> art to exist without censorship. In 2015, Islamic attackers killed 12 people (5 of them cartoonists) working for <a href="/wiki/Charlie_Hebdo#2015_attacks" title="Charlie Hebdo"><i>Charlie Hebdo</i></a> for their depictions of Muhammad. <ul><li>In 2010, a depiction of Mohammed in <i><a href="/wiki/South_Park" title="South Park">South Park</a></i> caused yet <i>another</i> snit-fit in the Islamic world and a demand for the images to be removed. While Comedy Central complied to the demand, this in itself provoked <a href="/wiki/Everybody_Draw_Mohammed_Day" title="Everybody Draw Mohammed Day">another round of numerous people all over the Internet drawing Mohammed</a>.</li></ul></li> <li>Anything by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapplethorpe" class="extiw" title="wp:Mapplethorpe" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Mapplethorpe">Mapplethorpe</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> - Robert Mapplethorpe (1946-1989–) made his name by challenging the standards of what people saw as art. His most famous hissy-fit-inducing piece, perhaps, was a <a href="/wiki/Naked" class="mw-redirect" title="Naked">naked</a> <a href="/wiki/Jesus" title="Jesus">Jesus</a> having all kinds of unmentionable things done to him. Of course, Mapplethorpe's themes are usually <a href="/wiki/Homosexuality" title="Homosexuality">homoerotic</a>, and often deal with <a href="/wiki/Sadism" title="Sadism">sadism</a> and <a href="/wiki/Masochism" title="Masochism">masochism</a>, so he generally ticks off the religious no matter what the particular subject.</li></ul> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Society_vs._art">Society vs. art</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Art&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Society vs. art">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Degenerate" title="Degenerate">Degenerate</a> art</b> - back when ex-would-be-art-student Adolf Hitler's <a href="/wiki/Nazis" class="mw-redirect" title="Nazis">Nazis</a> rose to power in <a href="/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">Germany</a>, control of the message was critical. All art that was of a "<a href="/wiki/Jewish" class="mw-redirect" title="Jewish">Jewish</a>" nature or in any way challenged Germany's right to total power or seemed to engage the concepts of subjectivity, relativism, or abstraction was banned as degenerate art.</li> <li>In the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a>, controls were placed on the world of art. Throughout most of the Soviet period (1917-1991), the only officially acceptable style of art was "<a href="/wiki/Socialist" class="mw-redirect" title="Socialist">socialist</a> realism", which despite its name was actually a <a href="/wiki/Romanticism" title="Romanticism">romantic</a> style, glorifying and idealizing the work of manual laborers. The restrictions were at their worst during the time of <a href="/wiki/Joseph_Stalin" title="Joseph Stalin">Joseph Stalin</a> (1920s to 1953), but continued until the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991; a notable incident was 1974's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulldozer_Exhibition" class="extiw" title="wp:Bulldozer Exhibition" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Bulldozer Exhibition">Bulldozer Exhibition</span></a>,<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> where the government destroyed with bulldozers an independent art exhibit set up in a field near Moscow.</li> <li>Similarly, the <a href="/wiki/Communist" class="mw-redirect" title="Communist">Communist</a> Party in <a href="/wiki/China" title="China">China</a> has held a tight grip on what can and cannot be created by artists. Any art (Chinese or otherwise) that carries an "improper" message is not only banned, it can land the native Chinese artist in serious trouble. Chinese artists have only been able to express themselves to any politically significant degree as more and more have fled their homeland in recent years.</li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Examples_of_Art">Examples of Art</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Art&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Examples of Art">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li>The Mona Lisa</li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Bible" class="mw-redirect" title="The Bible">The Bible</a> (certainly much more so than an accurate source of history)</li> <li>Duchamp's Fountain (debatably, started a lot of debates over the past 100 years)</li> <li>"Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" (clearly the best out of all of these)</li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Art&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Music" title="Music">Music</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Literature" title="Literature">Literature</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Films" class="mw-redirect" title="Films">Films</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Crop_circles" title="Crop circles">Crop circles</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nazca_lines" title="Nazca lines">Nazca lines</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cottingley_fairies" title="Cottingley fairies">Cottingley fairies</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jon_McNaughton" title="Jon McNaughton">Jon McNaughton</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Modern_art_and_architecture" title="Modern art and architecture">Modern art and architecture</a></li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Notes">Notes</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Art&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Notes">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-1">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Actually, <a href="/wiki/Irony" title="Irony">someone made that one up on their own</a>. Come up with a better definition and we'll use that.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">One example of "art vs. not art" arises out of the digital camera era. (When a person can take 1,000 pictures without real cost, at least <i>one</i> of them will be gorgeous. But the random snapping and "oh, that's divine," was not intended to be shot in such a way that would make the observer say "oh, this is emotional to me." It's just that it <i>happened</i> to be emotional. By most definitions, this is chance, not art.)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/88/398912568_c1200cf8a0_o.jpg">This</a> for example.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-4">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Regarding the last one, don't complain when your building interiors then look like shit, yeah?</span> </li> </ol></div></div>    </div></div><div class="printfooter">Retrieved from "<a dir="ltr" href="https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Art&oldid=2621821">https://rationalwiki.org/w/index.php?title=Art&oldid=2621821</a>"</div> <div id="catlinks" class="catlinks" data-mw="interface"><div id="mw-normal-catlinks" class="mw-normal-catlinks"><a href="/wiki/Special:Categories" title="Special:Categories">Categories</a>: <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Culture" title="Category:Culture">Culture</a></li><li><a href="/wiki/Category:Arts" title="Category:Arts">Arts</a></li></ul></div></div> </div> </div> <div id="mw-navigation"> <h2>Navigation menu</h2> <div id="mw-head">  <nav id="p-personal" class="vector-menu" aria-labelledby="p-personal-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-personal-label"> <span>Personal tools</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="pt-anonuserpage">Not logged in</li><li id="pt-anontalk"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyTalk" title="Discussion about edits from this IP address [n]" accesskey="n">Talk</a></li><li id="pt-anoncontribs"><a href="/wiki/Special:MyContributions" title="A list of edits made from this IP address [y]" accesskey="y">Contributions</a></li><li id="pt-createaccount"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:CreateAccount&returnto=Art" title="You are encouraged to create an account and log in; however, it is not mandatory">Create account</a></li><li id="pt-login"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Special:UserLogin&returnto=Art" title="You are encouraged to log in; however, it is not mandatory [o]" accesskey="o">Log in</a></li></ul> </div> </nav> <div id="left-navigation">  <nav id="p-namespaces" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs vectorTabs" aria-labelledby="p-namespaces-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-namespaces-label"> <span>Namespaces</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="ca-nstab-main" class="selected"><a href="/wiki/Art" title="View the content page [c]" accesskey="c">Page</a></li><li id="ca-talk"><a href="/wiki/Talk:Art" rel="discussion" title="Discussion about the content page [t]" accesskey="t">Talk</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-variants" class="vector-menu-empty emptyPortlet vector-menu vector-menu-dropdown vectorMenu" aria-labelledby="p-variants-label" role="navigation" > <input type="checkbox" class="vector-menu-checkbox vectorMenuCheckbox" aria-labelledby="p-variants-label" /> <h3 id="p-variants-label"> <span>Variants</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="menu vector-menu-content-list"></ul> </div> </nav> </div> <div id="right-navigation">  <nav id="p-views" class="vector-menu vector-menu-tabs vectorTabs" aria-labelledby="p-views-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-views-label"> <span>Views</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="ca-view" class="collapsible selected"><a href="/wiki/Art">Read</a></li><li id="ca-edit" class="collapsible"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Art&action=edit" title="Edit this page [e]" accesskey="e">Edit</a></li><li id="ca-history" class="collapsible"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Art&action=history" title="Past revisions of this page [h]" accesskey="h">Fossil record</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-cactions" class="vector-menu-empty emptyPortlet vector-menu vector-menu-dropdown vectorMenu" aria-labelledby="p-cactions-label" role="navigation" > <input type="checkbox" class="vector-menu-checkbox vectorMenuCheckbox" aria-labelledby="p-cactions-label" /> <h3 id="p-cactions-label"> <span>More</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="menu vector-menu-content-list"></ul> </div> </nav> <div id="p-search" role="search"> <h3 > <label for="searchInput">Search</label> </h3> <form action="/w/index.php" id="searchform"> <div id="simpleSearch"> <input type="search" name="search" placeholder="Search RationalWiki" title="Search RationalWiki [f]" accesskey="f" id="searchInput"/> <input type="hidden" name="title" value="Special:Search"> <input type="submit" name="fulltext" value="Search" title="Search the pages for this text" id="mw-searchButton" class="searchButton mw-fallbackSearchButton"/> <input type="submit" name="go" value="Go" title="Go to a page with this exact name if it exists" id="searchButton" class="searchButton"/> </div> </form> </div> </div> </div> <div id="mw-panel"> <div id="p-logo" role="banner"> <a title="Visit the main page" class="mw-wiki-logo" href="/wiki/Main_Page"></a> </div>  <nav id="p-navigation" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal portal-first" aria-labelledby="p-navigation-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-navigation-label"> <span>Navigation</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-mainpage-description"><a href="/wiki/Main_Page" title="Visit the main page [z]" accesskey="z">Main page</a></li><li id="n-recentchanges"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChanges" title="A list of recent changes in the wiki [r]" accesskey="r">Recent changes</a></li><li id="n-randompage"><a href="/wiki/Special:Random" title="Load a random mainspace article [x]" accesskey="x">Random page</a></li><li id="n-New-pages"><a href="/wiki/Special:NewPages">New pages</a></li><li id="n-All-logs"><a href="/wiki/Special:Log">All logs</a></li><li id="n-help"><a href="/wiki/Help:Contents" title="RTFM">Help</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-support" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-support-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-support-label"> <span>Support</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-Donate"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Site_support">Donate</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-community" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-community-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-community-label"> <span>Community</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-Saloon-bar"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Saloon_bar">Saloon bar</a></li><li id="n-To-do-list"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:To_do_list">To do list</a></li><li id="n-What-is-going-on.3F"><a href="/wiki/WIGO">What is going on?</a></li><li id="n-Best-of-RationalWiki"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Contents">Best of RationalWiki</a></li><li id="n-About-RationalWiki"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki">About RationalWiki</a></li><li id="n-Technical-support"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Technical_support">Technical support</a></li><li id="n-Mod-noticeboard"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki_talk:All_things_in_moderation">Mod noticeboard</a></li><li id="n-RMF-noticeboard"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki_talk:RationalMedia_Foundation">RMF noticeboard</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-Social media" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-Social media-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-Social media-label"> <span>Social media</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="n-Twitter"><a href="https://twitter.com/RationalWiki" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></li><li id="n-Mastodon"><a href="https://mstdn.social/@rationalwiki" rel="nofollow">Mastodon</a></li><li id="n-Facebook"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Rationalwiki/226614404019306" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></li><li id="n-Discord"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Discord">Discord</a></li><li id="n-Reddit"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Reddit">Reddit</a></li></ul> </div> </nav>  <nav id="p-tb" class="vector-menu vector-menu-portal portal" aria-labelledby="p-tb-label" role="navigation" > <h3 id="p-tb-label"> <span>Tools</span> </h3>  <div class="body vector-menu-content">  <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"><li id="t-whatlinkshere"><a href="/wiki/Special:WhatLinksHere/Art" title="A list of all wiki pages that link here [j]" accesskey="j">What links here</a></li><li id="t-recentchangeslinked"><a href="/wiki/Special:RecentChangesLinked/Art" rel="nofollow" title="Recent changes in pages linked from this page [k]" accesskey="k">Related changes</a></li><li id="t-specialpages"><a href="/wiki/Special:SpecialPages" title="A list of all special pages [q]" accesskey="q">Special pages</a></li><li id="t-print"><a href="javascript:print();" rel="alternate" title="Printable version of this page [p]" accesskey="p">Printable version</a></li><li id="t-permalink"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Art&oldid=2621821" title="Permanent link to this revision of the page">Permanent link</a></li><li id="t-info"><a href="/w/index.php?title=Art&action=info" title="More information about this page">Page information</a></li></ul> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <footer id="footer" class="mw-footer" role="contentinfo" > <ul id="footer-info" > <li id="footer-info-lastmod"> This page was last edited on 29 January 2024, at 16:36.</li> <li id="footer-info-copyright">Unless explicitly noted otherwise, all content licensed as indicated by <a name="Copyright" href="//rationalwiki.org/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyrights">RationalWiki:Copyrights</a>. <br> For concerns on copyright infringement please see: <a name="Copyright infringement" href="//rationalwiki.org/wiki/RationalWiki:Copyright_violations">RationalWiki:Copyright violations</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-places" > <li id="footer-places-privacy"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:Privacy_policy" title="RationalWiki:Privacy policy">Privacy policy</a></li> <li id="footer-places-about"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:About" class="mw-redirect" title="RationalWiki:About">About RationalWiki</a></li> <li id="footer-places-disclaimer"><a href="/wiki/RationalWiki:General_disclaimer" title="RationalWiki:General disclaimer">Disclaimers</a></li> </ul> <ul id="footer-icons" class="noprint"> <li id="footer-copyrightico"><a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"><img src="/w/88x31.png" alt="CC-BY-SA 3.0, or any later version" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"/></a></li> <li id="footer-poweredbyico"><a href="https://www.mediawiki.org/"><img src="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_88x31.png" alt="Powered by MediaWiki" srcset="/w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_132x47.png 1.5x, /w/resources/assets/poweredby_mediawiki_176x62.png 2x" width="88" height="31" loading="lazy"/></a></li> </ul> <div style="clear: both;"></div> </footer> <script>(RLQ=window.RLQ||[]).push(function(){mw.config.set({"wgPageParseReport":{"limitreport":{"cputime":"0.162","walltime":"0.865","ppvisitednodes":{"value":244,"limit":1000000},"postexpandincludesize":{"value":1115,"limit":2097152},"templateargumentsize":{"value":186,"limit":2097152},"expansiondepth":{"value":6,"limit":40},"expensivefunctioncount":{"value":0,"limit":100},"unstrip-depth":{"value":0,"limit":20},"unstrip-size":{"value":1678,"limit":5000000},"timingprofile":["100.00% 9.256 1 -total"," 41.94% 3.882 1 Template:Reflist"," 29.14% 2.697 3 Template:Wpl"," 20.51% 1.898 1 Template:Lived"]},"cachereport":{"origin":"apache5","timestamp":"20250408111403","ttl":86400,"transientcontent":false}}});mw.config.set({"wgBackendResponseTime":967,"wgHostname":"apache5"});});</script></body></html>