The Amsterdammer

Magazine reporter Romana Petkovska captures her perspective on “art” – what it is, how it is explained, and how people perceive art.

What is art? How do we define the term? Is it something that you can touch, or is it rather abstract? Is it real or an illusion?

The first definition that comes up when you type the word “art” into the Oxford dictionary is: “the use of the imagination to express ideas or feelings, particularly in painting, drawing or sculpture.” The second definition is: “examples of objects such as paintings, drawings, or sculptures.” However, the third one states something entirely different: “the skill of creating objects such as paintings and drawings, especially when you study it.” This is fascinating because every one of these examples defines art in a different way – the first is in what way one can use art, the second talks about specific objects that come out of using your imagination, and the third focuses on a skill that makes use of your imagination to create an object. All these interpretations are individual, and yet they connect with each other. There is no one way to explain art because art can be many things. Still, we could say that most art is made with the following equation: skill + use of that skill = object. But now, that could mean literally any skill, and the outcome could be any object; it doesn’t need to be just art, right?

One of the most important parts of creating art is feeling. Maybe that is what differentiates art from science. We live in the 21st century, however, and some scientists are becoming artists, such as Margherita Pevere, demonstrated by her artwork, Wombs. In that way, even science can be or create art. However, it is rather a scientific experiment that intends to create something artistic, not science itself, as seen by Pevere’s work. So, if you add feelings to science, does that make it art? What even is art? And who am I to tell you what is art and what isn’t?

From my perspective, art could be anything. And nothing. There’s not much to say besides what has already been said. I am abstract for a reason because art is, in a way, abstract. Not the specific kind of paintings, but art as something. Art is not only determined by a feeling; it is a feeling. It is also an object such as a drawing or painting or sculpture, a song you can hear or a movie you see. But when you think about a song, you cannot actually touch it. You can hear someone playing an instrument, and there is a sound in the atmosphere, but in no way can you grab it and say: “wow, I caught this art, this song, with my bare hands”.

As  mentioned before, art could be explained in many ways. However, since that is true, there is actually no real definition of art that could be precise and accurate in explaining everything that has to be said when you say the word art. Maybe it means that art doesn’t actually exist because you cannot describe it. Well, you can, but someone could say that your definition of art is not the true one. For them, it is something else.

That makes me think about how people perceive art: some appreciate it, and some don’t. In a way, you can think of art as a religion – there are religious people and people who are atheists and lots of times they argue with each other about whether God is real. So, there are pro-art people and not-so-into-art people arguing if an object – for example, a painting by Pablo Picasso – is art. Some might say they could paint that themselves, so it obviously cannot be an honorable artwork. Can it at least be art? No, because “my 10-year-old son could draw that.”

I would say that discussing art is like going into a spiral or a circle from which there is no escape. One simply cannot start thinking about what art is, because every possible way to get out of that thought is blocked by another and another and another. One still feels dissatisfied with the outcome of the first thought because the first thought isn’t enough, and it doesn’t captivate art the way it should. But what is the way art should be cornered? Well, that’s the catch. There is no possibility you can put art in one corner.