Why is art especially important nowadays? Opinions please.

[Henry Stahle]

"...the fine arts are just about dead in our educational system..."

Well, I am not sure about the "fine art" and what it is. Compared to "foul art" or ""bad art" or...? Fine art is probably an art historic term. Academic art is another. But no art is finer than the other to me. I have been teaching art all my professional life and do not agree to anything that puts one kind of art above the other. Internet has billions and billons of pictures made by artists like me and others. Amateurs or not. Some art is promoted as "fine". For what reason? I recently visited an art exibition at the Nordic Akvarell museum about Disney early films. That is art.

Have a look at Pinterest or Behance and other sites lik them. They are full of art. Made by people like you and me, not by any divine ARTIST.

Art has become democratic.

Art history is interesting and is, and has alwys been, a part of the curicculum in my country. I have been teaching art and art history and examining it for over 40 years. This is what the core content for art history in swedish schools read:

"Contemporary art and documentary images, and works of art and architectural works from different periods and cultures in Sweden, Europe and other parts of the world. How images and works are designed and what messages they communicate."

That is what the students should learn and what the teacher should teach over here. Not only "fine art".

All kinds of art.

I like that.

[Victor Osaka]

Yes, may be I should rephrase that from Fine Art to Art period. Originally, when I made the post i had been considering a more traditional in

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Western European academic traditions, fine art is art developed primarily for aesthetics or beauty, distinguishing it from applied art that also has to serve some practical function.
Historically, the five main fine arts were painting, sculpture, architecture, music and poetry, with performing arts including theatre and dance.

[Henry Stahle]

Yes, may be I should rephrase that from Fine Art to Art period. Originally, when I made the post i had been considering a more traditional in From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In Western European academic traditions, fine art is art developed primarily for aesthetics or beauty, distinguishing it from applied art that also has to serve some practical function.
Historically, the five main fine arts were painting, sculpture, architecture, music and poetry, with performing arts including theatre and dance.

Well, I do not agree to what fine art is as a phenomena. Art was, and still is, an intrument of power, opression, money and superiority. It had a practical function in the hands of the upper classes and the religion. It was not only beauty and aesthetics in them selves, these were only means to communicate the power over the lower classes. Just like today when art is locked in museums, galleries, on the walls of millionairs, when art shows in expensive clothing, in architecture, in expressions in the upper classes ways of living... etc. Our time is not far from the period of Louis XIV...



Graffitti, comics, animated films, Internet and digital communication... et cetera...has made art truly democratic. There are lots of good paint programs to make your own art... like ArtRage, ClipStudio, Sketchbook, krita, Media Bang... and so on. And you can easily spread your art by publishing on forums or sell it on Etsy and other places. You can even but good reproductions in IKEA or print your own art in a print shop and sell it by yor self. No need for galleries any more.

I think the history of Art, from stoneage and forward is a truly necessery and interesting subject in every school, from K-12 to University. FINE art... I don't like the term... I really would like to call it something else... just art, I think.

[damasocl]

Thanks for the reply. One of the reasons I did not give my direct opinion was that I am indeed an educator and former professor. So, I am biased - just a bit. Your thoughts on the subject are interesting to me.

It's true, one CAN find a lot of art on the web. Does one have to know how to create art to appreciate art? Is appreciation enough? Must one be intellectual about art? About the creative process? Or have a practical knowledge of the creative process?

Is the ability to express one's creativity (in a deep way) essential to the human experience? I think so. I can't quite remember what it is like to not know how to create art. The mechanics of putting to form a concept.

Yo opino que el tema es muy amplio, y por lo demás muy interesante para muchos de nosotros.
Yo también soy educador, y desde que decidí estudiar la Pedagogía en Bellas Artes (Artes Plásticas como se le suele decir en Chile), me dí cuenta que el alumno reacciona bien si es bien motivado, y además, si se le invita a "mirar" la naturaleza, o bien, lo que le rodea ...
Cuando recién comencé a trabajar como Profesor de Artes Plásticas en una escuela particular, a niños entre 9 y 14 años aproximadamente, descubrí poco a poco que mis clases "encantaban" a los alumnos.
Una de las cosas que los motivó fué el hecho de invitarlos a salir al patio de la escuela a dibujar ...

Pero, desgraciadamente hoy en mi paìs, las Artes Plásticas son una materia optativa, y las autoridades de la Educación (a partir de 1973), solo tienen la meta de que los alumnos compitan, ganen, y tengan un trabajo que les reporte mucho dinero...

WEB translation:

I think that the topic is very broad, and otherwise very interesting for many of us.
I am also an educator, and since I decided to study the Pedagogy of Fine Arts, I realized that students react well if well motivated, and also if you are invited to "look "nature, or around him ...
When I started just working as art teacher in a private school, children between about 9 and 14, I discovered slowly that my classes "loved" to students.
One of the things that motivated them was the fact invite them out to the schoolyard to draw ...

But unfortunately today in my country, the Arts are an optional subject, and the authorities of Education (since 1973), only have the goal of students compete, win, and have a job to report them lots of money ...

[Victor Osaka]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16578438

David Hockney thinks that over his lifetime art has become "less". He blames the art establishment (museums, galleries, art schools) for becoming over-enamoured with conceptual art: "It gave up on imagesbit" the artist laments.

[Henry Stahle]

[QUOTE=David Hockney thinks that over his lifetime art has become "less". He blames the art establishment (museums, galleries, art schools) for becoming over-enamoured with conceptual art: "It gave up on imagesbit" the artist laments.[/QUOTE]

Oh! I always admired David Hockney. Here is one of his iPad paintings:

[Henry Stahle]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16578438

David Hockney thinks that over his lifetime art has become "less". He blames the art establishment (museums, galleries, art schools) for becoming over-enamoured with conceptual art: "It gave up on imagesbit" the artist laments.

Oh! I always admired David Hockney. Here is one of his iPad paintings:



I use Pinterest, Behance and Instagram and study and look at art of all different kinds every day on these great artistic meetingplaces on Internet. I find it amazing how many talented and serious, well educated and skilled young and older artists there are exhibiting their work of art. I really don't think art is any way is going backward.

Art history is alive in schools and universities and art schools all over Europe as far as I know.

[shivanya]

Art is important to the people nowadays because of the colors, and the output of the typical art in the world.

[Pop Alexandra]

It's important because it can remind us that there is pleasure and beauty outside jobs and social interactions.
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Alexandra from art transport