America’s Strange Relationship with Art
Looking at art as a non-artist
I don’t know if there is anyone who would publicly say they don’t like art. Admitting that you don’t like art is like saying you don’t like books or plays or even movies. People would automatically make judgments about your intelligence and taste. My guess is that if 100 people were asked if they like art, 100 people would say they do, though some might qualify what kind of art they like or dislike. Virtually none would say they don’t like art, period.
Americans do have difficulty, however, in deciding what does and doesn’t constitute art. Drawing and painting are obviously art. Sculpture is universally accepted as an art form, as is playing or writing music. Few would deny that dance is an art form either. Some even claim that writing is an art. I am one of them.
After that, however, things get a little murky. Are martial arts an art form? Is someone who holds a black belt in tae kwon do or karate an artist? What about the industrial arts? I don’t know if many people would consider a welder an artist, but they might be if they were welding together a metal sculpture.
Consider someone welding together an elaborate sculpture using only metal piping. Is that person an artist? Compare that to a plumber putting together an entire plumbing system in a…
