A work of art, artwork,art piece, piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value. Except for "work of art", which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense, including works from literature and music, these terms apply principally to tangible, physical forms of visual art:
- An example of fine art, such as a painting or sculpture.
- Objects in the decorative arts or applied arts that have been designed for aesthetic appeal, as well as any functional purpose, such as a piece of jewellery, many ceramics and much folk art.
- An object created for principally or entirely functional, religious or other non-aesthetic reasons which has come to be appreciated as art (often later, or by cultural outsiders).
- A non-ephemeral photograph or film.
- A work of installation art or conceptual art.
Used more broadly, the term is less commonly applied to:
- A fine work of architecture or landscape design
- A production of live performance, such as theater, ballet, opera, performance art, musical concert and other performing arts, and other ephemeral, non-tangible creations.
This article is concerned with the terms and concepts as used in and applied to the visual arts, although other fields such as aural-music and written word-literature have similar issues and philosophies. The term objet d'art is reserved to describe works of art that are not paintings, prints, drawings or large or medium-sized sculptures, or architecture (e.g. household goods, figurines, etc., some purely aesthetic, some also practical). The term oeuvre is used to describe the complete body of work completed by an artist throughout a career.
Definition
A work of art in the visual arts is a physical two- or three- dimensional object that is professionally determined or otherwise considered to fulfill a primarily independent aesthetic function. A singular art object is often seen in the context of a larger art movement or artistic era, such as: a genre, aesthetic convention, culture, or regional-national distinction. It can also be seen as an item within an artist's "body of work" or oeuvre. The term is commonly used by museum and cultural heritage curators, the interested public, the art patron-private art collector community, and art galleries.
Physical objects that document immaterial or conceptual art works, but do not conform to artistic conventions, can be redefined and reclassified as art objects. Some Dada and Neo-Dada conceptual and readymade works have received later inclusion. Also, some architectural renderings and models of unbuilt projects, such as by Vitruvius, Leonardo da Vinci, Frank Lloyd Wright, and Frank Gehry, are other examples.
The products of environmental design, depending on intention and execution, can be "works of art" and include: land art, site-specific art, architecture, gardens, landscape architecture, installation art, rock art, and megalithic monuments.
Legal definitions of "work of art" are used in copyright law; see Visual arts § United States of America copyright definition of visual art.
History
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (April 2024) |
Theories
Theorists have argued that objects and people do not have a constant meaning, but their meanings are fashioned by humans in the context of their culture, as they have the ability to make things mean or signify something. A prime example of this theory are the Readymades of Marcel Duchamp. Marcel Duchamp criticized the idea that the work of art must be a unique product of an artist's labour or skill through his "readymades": "mass-produced, commercially available, often utilitarian objects" to which he gave titles, designating them as artwork only through these processes of choosing and naming.
Artist Michael Craig-Martin, creator of An Oak Tree, said of his work – "It's not a symbol. I have changed the physical substance of the glass of water into that of an oak tree. I didn't change its appearance. The actual oak tree is physically present, but in the form of a glass of water."
Distinctions
Some art theorists and writers have long made a distinction between the physical qualities of an art object and its identity-status as an artwork. For example, a painting by Rembrandt has a physical existence as an "oil painting on canvas" that is separate from its identity as a masterpiece "work of art" or the artist's magnum opus. Many works of art are initially denied "museum quality" or artistic merit, and later become accepted and valued in museum and private collections. Works by the Impressionists and non-representational abstract artists are examples. Some, such as the readymades of Marcel Duchamp including his infamous urinal Fountain, are later reproduced as museum quality replicas.
Research suggests that presenting an artwork in a museum context can affect the perception of it.
There is an indefinite distinction, for current or historical aesthetic items: between "fine art" objects made by "artists"; and folk art, craft-work, or "applied art" objects made by "first, second, or third-world" designers, artisans and craftspeople. Contemporary and archeological indigenous art, industrial design items in limited or mass production, and places created by environmental designers and cultural landscapes, are some examples. The term has been consistently available for debate, reconsideration, and redefinition.
See also
- Anti-art
- Artistic media
- Cultural artifact
- Opus number (used in music)
- Outline of aesthetics
- "The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction"
- Western canon
References
- Mostly in American English
- Oeuvre Merriam Webster Dictionary, Accessed April 2011
- Gell, Alfred (1998). Art and agency: an Anthropological Theory. Clarendon Press. p. 7. ISBN 0-19-828014-9. Retrieved 2011-03-11.
- Macdonald, Sharon (2006). A Companion to Museum Studies. Blackwell companions in cultural studies. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 52. ISBN 1-4051-0839-8. Retrieved 2011-03-11.
- Hall, S (ed.) 1997, Cultural Representations and Signifying Practice, Open University Press, London, 1997.
- MoMA: The Museum of Modern Art. "Marcel Duchamp and the Readymade". MoMA: The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
- "There's No Need to be Afraid of the Present", The Independent, 25 Jun 2001
- "FTC Wins $2.3 Million Judgment Against Gallery Owner In Phony Art Scam" (Press release). Federal Trade Commission. August 11, 1995. Archived from the original on August 4, 2009. Retrieved October 29, 2008.
- "Rembrandt Research Project - Home". rembrandtresearchproject.org.
- Susanne Grüner; Eva Specker & Helmut Leder (2019). "Effects of Context and Genuineness in the Experience of Art". Empirical Studies of the Arts. 37 (2): 138–152. doi:10.1177/0276237418822896. S2CID 150115587.
Further reading
- Wollheim, Richard. Art and Its Objects (2nd ed) 1980. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-29706-0. The classic philosophical enquiry into what a work of art is.
External links
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Media related to Works of art at Wikimedia Commons
A work of art artwork art piece piece of art or art object is an artistic creation of aesthetic value Except for work of art which may be used of any work regarded as art in its widest sense including works from literature and music these terms apply principally to tangible physical forms of visual art An example of fine art such as a painting or sculpture Objects in the decorative arts or applied arts that have been designed for aesthetic appeal as well as any functional purpose such as a piece of jewellery many ceramics and much folk art An object created for principally or entirely functional religious or other non aesthetic reasons which has come to be appreciated as art often later or by cultural outsiders A non ephemeral photograph or film A work of installation art or conceptual art Examples of paintings The Four Continents by Peter Paul Rubens A portrait of Madame de Pompadour and a dog at the foot of her shoes by Francois Boucher Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre Auguste Renoir The Old Plantation attributed to John Rose Examples of sculptures Examples of architecture Examples of ceramic art Examples of mosaics Examples of furniture Hm hm hm source source Composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart An example of music specifically opera Problems playing this file See media help Shine On Harvest Moon source source Performed by Ada Jones and Billy Murray another example of music specifically early 1900s vaudeville Problems playing this file See media help Used more broadly the term is less commonly applied to A fine work of architecture or landscape design A production of live performance such as theater ballet opera performance art musical concert and other performing arts and other ephemeral non tangible creations This article is concerned with the terms and concepts as used in and applied to the visual arts although other fields such as aural music and written word literature have similar issues and philosophies The term objet d art is reserved to describe works of art that are not paintings prints drawings or large or medium sized sculptures or architecture e g household goods figurines etc some purely aesthetic some also practical The term oeuvre is used to describe the complete body of work completed by an artist throughout a career DefinitionA work of art in the visual arts is a physical two or three dimensional object that is professionally determined or otherwise considered to fulfill a primarily independent aesthetic function A singular art object is often seen in the context of a larger art movement or artistic era such as a genre aesthetic convention culture or regional national distinction It can also be seen as an item within an artist s body of work or oeuvre The term is commonly used by museum and cultural heritage curators the interested public the art patron private art collector community and art galleries Physical objects that document immaterial or conceptual art works but do not conform to artistic conventions can be redefined and reclassified as art objects Some Dada and Neo Dada conceptual and readymade works have received later inclusion Also some architectural renderings and models of unbuilt projects such as by Vitruvius Leonardo da Vinci Frank Lloyd Wright and Frank Gehry are other examples The products of environmental design depending on intention and execution can be works of art and include land art site specific art architecture gardens landscape architecture installation art rock art and megalithic monuments Legal definitions of work of art are used in copyright law see Visual arts United States of America copyright definition of visual art HistoryThis section needs expansion You can help by adding to it April 2024 TheoriesTheorists have argued that objects and people do not have a constant meaning but their meanings are fashioned by humans in the context of their culture as they have the ability to make things mean or signify something A prime example of this theory are the Readymades of Marcel Duchamp Marcel Duchamp criticized the idea that the work of art must be a unique product of an artist s labour or skill through his readymades mass produced commercially available often utilitarian objects to which he gave titles designating them as artwork only through these processes of choosing and naming Artist Michael Craig Martin creator of An Oak Tree said of his work It s not a symbol I have changed the physical substance of the glass of water into that of an oak tree I didn t change its appearance The actual oak tree is physically present but in the form of a glass of water DistinctionsSome art theorists and writers have long made a distinction between the physical qualities of an art object and its identity status as an artwork For example a painting by Rembrandt has a physical existence as an oil painting on canvas that is separate from its identity as a masterpiece work of art or the artist s magnum opus Many works of art are initially denied museum quality or artistic merit and later become accepted and valued in museum and private collections Works by the Impressionists and non representational abstract artists are examples Some such as the readymades of Marcel Duchamp including his infamous urinal Fountain are later reproduced as museum quality replicas Research suggests that presenting an artwork in a museum context can affect the perception of it There is an indefinite distinction for current or historical aesthetic items between fine art objects made by artists and folk art craft work or applied art objects made by first second or third world designers artisans and craftspeople Contemporary and archeological indigenous art industrial design items in limited or mass production and places created by environmental designers and cultural landscapes are some examples The term has been consistently available for debate reconsideration and redefinition See alsoAnti art Artistic media Cultural artifact Opus number used in music Outline of aesthetics The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction Western canonReferencesMostly in American English Oeuvre Merriam Webster Dictionary Accessed April 2011 Gell Alfred 1998 Art and agency an Anthropological Theory Clarendon Press p 7 ISBN 0 19 828014 9 Retrieved 2011 03 11 Macdonald Sharon 2006 A Companion to Museum Studies Blackwell companions in cultural studies Wiley Blackwell p 52 ISBN 1 4051 0839 8 Retrieved 2011 03 11 Hall S ed 1997 Cultural Representations and Signifying Practice Open University Press London 1997 MoMA The Museum of Modern Art Marcel Duchamp and the Readymade MoMA The Museum of Modern Art Retrieved February 2 2024 There s No Need to be Afraid of the Present The Independent 25 Jun 2001 FTC Wins 2 3 Million Judgment Against Gallery Owner In Phony Art Scam Press release Federal Trade Commission August 11 1995 Archived from the original on August 4 2009 Retrieved October 29 2008 Rembrandt Research Project Home rembrandtresearchproject org Susanne Gruner Eva Specker amp Helmut Leder 2019 Effects of Context and Genuineness in the Experience of Art Empirical Studies of the Arts 37 2 138 152 doi 10 1177 0276237418822896 S2CID 150115587 Further readingWollheim Richard Art and Its Objects 2nd ed 1980 Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 29706 0 The classic philosophical enquiry into what a work of art is External linksLook up art student artwork objet d art or work of art in Wiktionary the free dictionary Media related to Works of art at Wikimedia Commons
