Art





Art originally was the processes of man, and as such was synonymous with
science. Nowadays it is in essence the foremost expression of human
creativity. As difficult to define as it is to evaluate, given that each
individual artist chooses the rules and parameters that guide her work, it
can still be said that art is the process and the product of choosing a
medium, a set of rules for the use of that medium, and a set of values that
determine what deserves to be expressed through that medium, in order to
convey either a belief, an idea, a sensation, or a feeling in the most
effective way possible for that medium.

Opinions differ as to what can and cannot be defined as art; for example,
can somebody make art if the creation was not intended to be art? Is art
always a form of individual expression? Will a work of art only be art once
it is finished? For a more in-depth discussion of these questions, see the
article on the definition of art and read some quotations about art.

Types of art

There are many types of art; the history of art reaches back into
prehistoric times. Today, art most often refers to the visual arts,
specifically painting and sculpture, and photography. Art also commonly
refers to the fine arts, which include music, literature, poetry, dance, and
the theater. An outgrowth of the theater is film and animation, and more
recently, multimedia.

When something is done especially well, it can be considered art: a feat of
engineering such as the Golden Gate Bridge can be seen as a work of art.
Architecture is certainly a type of art: consider the Eiffel Tower or the
Notre Dame cathedral. Even computer programming can be art; some people
create poems in their favorite programming language.

Art doesn't have to be solely for aesthetic purposes; arts and crafts deals
with making useful things into art. Commercial art ("visual communication")
uses artistic methods to convey information such as advertising. Sometimes
people make art out of random objects that weren't intended to be art; such
art is called found art.