We shared the definitions of 57 different people about art in the first part. As can be clearly seen, there is no one definition that is accepted by everyone in the question of what is art. Different definitions of artists, art historians and art lovers are related to the existing art. It is not known whether everyone agrees, but we can also reach the definitions of art from dictionaries. ‘Art’ means in Turkısh: Sanat. In the Turkish Language Institution Dictionary ‘sanat (art)’ defines it as “all the methods used in the expression of an emotion, design, beauty, etc. or superior creativity that results from this expression”. The word “sanat (art)” we use in Turkish comes from Arabic. (san’at means - manufacturing, craftsmanship, craftsmanship, trick.) In the Oxford dictionary, 'art'; It is defined as “using imagination to express ideas or emotions, especially in painting, drawing or sculpture”. (Latin: artem) In this case, when we look at both the dictionary meanings and the definitions of the important people who lived in different periods, there is a production and a consensus on the point that this production is with the human hand and the idea.
According to another Source: "The word art is derived from the word artificial in Arabic. Similarly, the word art is derived from English (art) artifical, in German (kunst) Künstlich. These three source words derived from the word" Art "means" artificial ". When it was first used, art has meanings of artificiality. ”(Source: http://mozartcultures.com/sanat-nedir/)
Biologist Sinan Canan beautifully defines art to cover these two basic points: A brain with high cognitive characteristics produces abstract thoughts. Then he puts this abstract thought into a concrete creation. (You can listen to Sinan Canan's speech from the Sleepless Club - December 06, 2019, but the subject is about the brain, not art.)
For art, we can say that the abstract thoughts and emotions produced by the human brain, that is, the transfer of products to concrete objects by human hands, with some techniques and rules.
Since we define the art in general, we can ask a question like this;
Is art done by every human being and thought?
Which works do we consider as art products?
Art, born out of the need to express humans, thoughts and feelings, has existed since humanity began to draw a number of shapes in caves.
So if we simply draw a human drawing on a wall today, or even draw a stickman, is that a work of art? We cannot say exactly yes to this because the centuries passed have given us some aesthetic concerns. For this reason, we have definitely encountered the concepts of 'classical period' or 'classical technique' in any field of art. Here, the artists in the period we call classic followed certain techniques and ways in the production of works of art, leaving them as a legacy to us. The formation of different art movements shows us that the understanding of art and techniques are in constant change. Art is subjective, that’s why people's understanding of art has also been subjective. New generation artists have also followed the currents they saw close to them, or have created original works in today's sense of modern art. Speaking of originality, this concept is not only for artists engaged in modern art, of course, every artist can create his own originality.
“In order for a work to be a work of art, conditions such as human labor, beautifulness and originalness are sought. Simple works that are made by people but do not admire people are not considered as art. It is not possible to accept the ordinary works that everybody can do, but it is not possible for those who reveal them to be accepted as artists. '' (Source: SANAT, SANATÇı, SANAT ESERİ VE AHLAK -Yrd. Doç. Dr. Bayram AKDOGAN)
Human and animal figures, which were simply drawn and trying to tell the moment, turned into huge works that required great craftsmanship. Nowadays, we see that these elaborate craftsmanship turn into simple figures and even empty walls. Now let's go back to the stickman.
Since blank walls and taped bananas are considered works of art, why is not work of art our genie? Because for the purpose of making the figure drawn in the early days, the purpose of making the present shapes, the bananas are not the same. We can say that while art was aimed at explaining certain events or facts in the beginning, today it also aims to reflect a philosophical thought. In the early days, art was a tool to convey events or facts, ie information. Now, cameras, books are our information transfer tools. For this reason, the works of art we produce no longer convey information, but a philosophical thought, a criticism or an idea. It should be noted that many works of art that we find meaningless or simple actually have an idea behind them. Many of the artists of these works also know classical art and add something to themselves and create new comments. That is, when we discuss whether a work is a work of art or not, we cannot set aside the accumulation of humanity in art because what we produce finds it essential. When evaluating the works, the knowledge and knowledge of the artists become important. For this reason, we see the stickman as a work of art if Picasso draws, and if the neighbor's child downstairs draws it as a scratch. Let's summarize the subject with the definition of Gearge Dickie art; The work of art is consciously made by human beings, acting for a certain social institution, the Art World, a person or individuals who have agreed on some features, have original qualities, and are candidates for gaining appreciation. '' Here, “Moving for the Art World , by person or persons ”, who should we actually search for? He answers his question. A work of art, however, comes from the hands of an artist who is concerned about art.
Sources: 1) https://www.tarihlisanat.com/sanat-nedir/
2)SANAT, SANATÇı, SANAT ESERİ VE AHLAK-Yrd. Doç. Dr. Bayram AKDOGAN (https://dergipark.org.tr/en/download/article-file/583682 )
- There is the youtube channel (Dilozof) that I follow up, but there is no english subtitles unfourtunately.