What Is Art? by Kally P.

What is Art?

By: Kally P.

Green Screen #4 By: Liz Deschenes at the ICA

Many people might not know what to think of art; some people might find it downright confusing. When you go into an art museum what do you think of it? Do you find it confusing or beautiful? Sometimes it is even a mix of both. The lines get even more blurry as you go into contemporary and abstract art. Sometimes you can’t even figure what is or isn’t art or why something is considered art.

This is exactly what happened to me when I walked in to an ICA exhibit where a seemingly normal green screen was spanning from the wall to the floor. I walked in and stared at this wall for a moment before realizing it was one of the pieces of art on display. What? I thought. Anybody could do this. I stared confused at this green sheet of paper that some people, apparently called art.

I might not be as artistically modern as some other people but I considered myself generally more open. So if you’re like me and have no idea why this is in an art museum, you’re not alone. But, I also considered trying to think of some ideas why this is included. For example, asking yourself if it means something/makes you feel something, or because it’s new and has never been done before (because sometimes while anyone could have done it, not everyone would have thought of it), or simply because the artist wanted to change the boundaries of what people thought of as art.

Next time you go to an art museum and come across a weird or interesting piece, ask yourself some questions. It might help you to better understand it and what the artist had in mind.

Hmm…now that I think about it, maybe that plain green piece has more to it than initially meets the eye. It does push the boundaries. Maybe it is really “art”. And yes, maybe it’s even ” good art”.