Every day I like to browse through critique and criticisms made by others on the internet. These can take a wide variety of subjects, from centuries-old literature, to contemporary films. But one this that every single one of the plebeian critics had something to say about the state of modern art. I mean just look at it. Multi-color smears of paint on a wall. Boring plastic cubes in position. At least these attempt to look the part. Some artist don't even bother painting the canvas. Leaving it completely blanks. Some modern art doesn't even resemble anything close to art. A popular urban legend says that a whole exhibit was accidentally thrown out by a janitor, he thought it was trash. So that begs the question, what happened to art?
In the beginning man has created some form of art, one way or another. People have found cave paintings in France that go back thousands of years. People would decorate their tools and furniture. At this time, art as we call it today, more specifically fine art, did not exist. Art then was ornamental in nature, used to decorate the things around man to make more aesthetically appealing. When churches where built they were special occasions, Cathedrals even more so. To decorate these monuments skilled craftsmen were employed to decorate it. Statues and glorious murals were used. When the Sistine Chapel had empty wall space, the church hired Michelangelo to cover it up with art.
Sometimes when I am bored I look at concept art for major motion pictures. These sketches often look better than what I see in the film, but that beside the point. When browsing I hop from one professional to another until I dip into the waters of amateurs. I find the art mixed, especially with certain communities. Different art styles, differing levels of detail, levels of skill even. But one thing I see time and time again among the amateurs is the commissions box. For a price you can have this artist draw what ever within their own personal domains. I found this quite strange the first few times I saw this. Why would an artist, on this level, charge for art? I mean you are not a professional, you are free to do as you please. Make all the beautiful art you want. And yet they ask for payment.
It was around this time I came to a revelation. All this information about art reached a conclusion. I believe that there are three principles of art. There are: beauty, expression, and value. Beauty is the most broad of all of the principles, it defines the objective beauty to be found within it. The adherence to natural rules and higher platonic ideals. Expression is the most personal value. It encompasses the story and person behind here piece of art. A man has a hard life, he is pushed down by society and he has an individuality within himself. Everyday it expresses the individuality through sculptures made of silver foil and rubbish. This is his soul expressed through the medium, this is expression. Value is the most important principle, because it deals with society. They say every man has a price, and so does art. That painting on the wall there, was bought somewhere. The very rug beneath my feat bought elsewhere. It was with this last principle that it all came together.
Have you ever seen the movie Wall street? Well I have so I'll cut to the chase. In a scene in the movie the main character is at his rich boss's house. This man is very well off and has decided to use a lot of that wealth it what he considers to be important pieces of art. An art collector. At one point in conversation with another character the main character makes a joke about the painting was bad and boring to look at. Only to be informed that it sold for millions at an auction. A seemingly boring piece of art was in fact extremely valuable. This value was not apparent because the beauty of a piece did not convey it.
Now I want you to look at the rug beneath you, really look at it. Look at that abstract floral pattern. Would you say it's beautiful? I mean it's not an ugly rug for sure, but it would seen out of place in an art gallery. I mean maybe besides an contemporary, but besides an 18th century still life of a plate of waffles. It pales in comparison. This form of art is merely decoration: buy it at Ikea. But lets say you had a bit of wealth, a beach house in Miami and a Penthouse in New York. Would you put an Ikea rug down when your dinner bill is in the tens of thousands before you hit dessert? No! you'd hire an abstract artist who specializes in twisting metal wire into vague human shapes and have it above you fireplace. You'd go to an auction and spend millions of a yellow square on a canvas. Fine art is about the money and tastes. The only art found on the high end is loaded with vague symbolism and even vaguer beauty. Sounds dreadful does it? I thought so too. When I heard about the film Hello Vincent, a film created through painting. I realized that there is still talents out there. If you want there to be beautiful art out there, buy it. There are tons of classical painters in any given place, talented people. Patronize them!
