What is art? It is an image that can express ideas, impressions, or even feelings, and/or emotion. Modern art was around much longer than most people realize, and the term “art” has a much broader meaning than just paintings on the walls. In general, art is a representation in the form of an object, usually with or without human interaction.

The term “art” itself comes from the Greek word “artos” which means artistic ability or talent. The popularity of art can be attributed to its ability to communicate ideas and to communicate the artist’s unique aesthetic sense. It is an extraordinary visual record, but is it also art? A critical analysis of artwork reveals many different answers, and each artist’s response to the question of what is art can be subjective to the artist’s own personal definition of beauty.

One school of thought about art is that beauty is necessarily absolute. While absolute beauty is certainly a factor, the nature of aesthetic beauty varies widely from one culture or period to another, as can the interpretation of beauty itself. Some might argue that the true definition of beauty is subjective, as it is dependent on the individual’s own point of view, and even that there is no such thing as an absolute concept of beauty. In this view, the art world is separated into “style,” “pose,” and “serious” art, with each group relating to a particular artist’s overall approach to beauty.

Another school of thought about art is that it is primarily a form of politics. According to this school of thought, modern art is an expression of political change – especially social change – in the form of new art and new interpretations of old art. In some cases, this school of thought is correct. For example, many modern artists who are considered political radicals actually do not take their political ideas too seriously, seeing political change as something of a benefit, as it makes their work more interesting and different.

On the other hand, some modern artists actually take a strong political stance through their art, and paint pictures depicting scenes of political or social conflict, or even protest movements, like the Red Summer. These paintings, by some artists like Picasso, Dada, and de Chardin, show the brutality of war, the chaos and destruction that can occur when forces of good go against those of evil. At the same time, these paintings also show the beauty of nature at its most beautiful, and suggest what may be possible if we allow things to go their natural course. This is a side of fine art that is rarely discussed today, and seems to be a niche topic for some artists, rather than the entire subject of art.

Nowadays, there are many discussions of art all over the world. But aesthetics still remains an extremely important part of any conversation, as it has been since the beginning of time. No matter where you look at art, whether it is a work of canvas or a photograph, a work of art, a painting, a sculpture, or a drawing – it is all about beauty. The beauty of the art itself, as well as its interpretation, will impact how people perceive it, and therefore its value. So the next time you look at a painting, and think to yourself ‘I wonder what that artist was thinking’, you are probably viewing a piece of artwork with great depth and understanding.