#1 - Suji: What is Art?

This question strongly reminds me of the Theory of Knowledge (TOK) course I took in my senior year of high school mainly because the exact same question was asked - what is art?

It wasn't surprising that the course concluded without coming up with a solid answer for the question; interpretations and norms of aesthetic perceptions were raised and discussed but dropped before anyone got any closer to understanding what art exactly was. It seemed that the definition of art was as arbitrary as its criteria of classification: 'What is art?' inevitably raises the supplementary question of 'What can be art?'

At this point, I believe art is to each his own. So, for me, art is the unique journey of a creative expression. Art's impact, art's value, art's interpretation - all of the above - depend on how the expressed is expressed or, more specifically, how the means of expression are interpreted by the spectator.

The above, for example, is art to me. Is the ring art? Is the shadow art? Is the book art? No, no, and no. It is rather the amalgamation of all the different elements present in the picture above that make it so: the lighting of the book that creates the shadows that highlight its arched contour so as to complement the arch of the ring, the shadow of the ring that forms the shape of a heart in the specific camera angle the shot is taken from, and the blue light orb at the top of the picture of an aesthetic purpose that escapes me for now. However, even more important is the context of the photograph. The ring is a wedding ring and the book it is wedged on is one of the seven books in the Harry Potter series. Given that, the connotations of the photograph become more obvious and indubitably clearer, simple even. Nevertheless, because the photographer chose to express the expression in a creative alternative, it becomes a unique journey - it transcends its medium and becomes art.