What is Art...

and why does it matter? I was asked this question on September 6th, 2007 when I visited YUAG to attend their Open House. Though I tried my best to answer the question logically (I answered-Art is perhaps representation of artist's thoughts and perceptions and it matters because perhaps it conveys a deeper meaning), I was quite intrigued and decided to do some research on this subject later. Come September 15th morning(next Saturday), I found myself drawn to YUAG again. This time there was a teen docent to take gallery visitors through the exhibits and as Mike (our docent) gave us a tour, things seemed so different and captivating! This visit certainly left an indelible impression about the subject "ART" in my mind and I've been trying to find the right answers ever since.

A quick lookup on meaning of "ART" on Visual thesaurus gives an interesting visual representation showing the related words too. When one takes a closer look at the four nearest nodes, their respective meanings more or less appear to be:

• Creative representations of abstract things.
• Unique Skill acquired through observation and study.
• Outcomes of human creative ability.
• Representations in a media as publications, artbooks etc.

Based on my observation of famous artworks so far, motivations of artists could vary per the following:

• To understand how things work and find what's happening inside- Analytical Drawing
• To reproduce accurately the appearance of a living / non-living object - Observational Drawing
• To document an experience and communicate emotions/intent and to share their or others' life stories- Illustrative Drawing

Think about it-of all the living species on earth, only human beings create ARTWORKS which could range from near perfect portraits to captivating landscape paintings to architectural drawings to hilarious caricatures to dazzling conceptual designs to fabric paintings and so on...for some reason I found this observation very interesting.

Why another ART blog?

Well ever since I attended YUAG Open House two years ago, I have visited several art galleries and museums on the East Coast (Thanks to BOA's Museums On Us Program), have filled several notebooks, have met some really inspiring people (artists, photographers, curators, museums officials, volunteers at musuems) and I must admit that every such visit has provided an energetic lift to me. Based on suggestions of close friends, I have decided to pen down my thoughts/experiences/impressions abour "ART" and "ARTISTS" here in this blog and share my enthusiasm with other curious folks who feel equally amazed by ART! So let's take a plunge into this mystic world of art and artists right away and try answering the question "Does Art Matter?" over the course of time...

"I am not an adventurer by choice but by fate"~Vincent van Gogh