The discussion of what constitutes art is referred to as art philosophy. Aesthetics is the name given to this type of philosophical thought. Aesthetics encompasses beauty, taste, and creation, but it boils down to one simple question: what is art? The answer is often subjective, and a large number of philosophers have attempted to answer it in their own unique way.
The most contentious issue in modern art philosophy is how to define art. Philosophers debate whether art can or should be defined at all. The traditional definition of art is an object that has meaning beyond its function, is distinguished from everyday objects, and is created with the visual rather than the functional in mind. Some of these pieces are culturally specific, while others are universal in nature.
The question has perplexed intellectuals throughout history and across civilizations. Plato, the Greek philosopher, believed that art was the purest expression of beauty and harmony. Greece is the source of European philosophical thought on art. Egypt, Persia, India, and China have all had an impact on the world, with each country spreading its own ideas beyond its borders. Each culture, in turn, has influenced the others.
The traditional definition corresponds to Leo Tolstoy’s own views on the subject. His art philosophy was that art captured the artist’s feelings and communicated them to the viewer. Because the feelings are fixed and cannot be changed, the art is objective in this case.
However, Francis Hutcheson believed that all art was subjective. Aesthetics, in his philosophy, were literally in the eye of the beholder. According to Hutcheson’s model, one person’s unmade bed is another’s Tracy Ermin work of art, and one person’s formaldehyde-soaked cow is another’s Damien Hurst masterpiece.
Eli Siegel went a step further than subjectivity by removing the artist’s conscious loading of meaning from the equation. All real-world objects, according to Siegel, were beautiful. The Sistine Chapel is comparable to a warehouse and a Ming vase with an Iron Age cooking pot in this way. His art philosophy, known as aesthetic realism, posed the question of how much craft is required to create something artistic.
Art and art philosophy have both been influenced by religion. What constitutes art and what is deemed acceptable has been influenced by religious beliefs. It would be aesthetic ethics in this case. For example, Islamic tradition holds that God creates flawless art while mankind’s creations are flawed. The Japanese, on the other hand, believe that man’s inherent flaws are present in his artistic works and are what make them beautiful, according to their wabi sabi tradition.