Yeah man, Interpreting is Generative
–Forsaken Artform comic
Generative—gen·er·a·tive (adjective)
adjective: generative
—relating to or capable of production or reproduction. “the generative power of the life force”
On the drive back from Oregon last week, we spent quality time discussing a topic that could fill many a long and winding road: What defines art?
Mind you, this is a topic with which I am greatly enamored. I could easily fill 10,000 words without blinking. My traveling companion and I debated for over an hour between Arbuckle and Benicia; even writing an outline for today’s entry took 800 words. So, I will try to focus mainly on one output of the discussion – a taxonomy of art.
It’s ART/Art/art whether You Like it or Not
Two ground rules are, however, necessary. First, let’s not confuse whether something is art (in a moment, I will redefine that term, but hold that thought) with what we like. Walt Disney is credited with saying, “I don’t know if it’s art, but I like it.” The converse is true. Whether you like it or not does not make it art. What defines art and its value to you or anyone else are two different things.
It’s valid to dislike things that are art, even when you are knowledgeable on why that thing is art. I like Jackson Pollock but dislike Mark Rothko, even though both were abstract expressionist painters with some of the same goals in mind. Leonard Bernstein once said there is good and bad Beethoven and good and bad Tina Turner. Some good Tina Turner can be better than bad Beethoven. Continue reading “Yes, But is it ART…Art…art…or art?”
