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Fine art is notoriously hard to define. Who decides whether something can be called “art”? The artist? The audience? Critics, buyers and curators?

The Cambridge Dictionary suggests that art is “the making of objects, images, music etc., that are beautiful or that express feelings.” All the great works which have been acknowledged as art, from the primitive cave paintings of northern Spain to the recent controversial sculptures of Ai Weiwei, certainly fit this description.

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Scholars generally agree that the Italian Renaissance (1400-1550) marks the beginning of fine art in the West. In this period, artists studied the architecture of the ancient civilizations. They saw that classical architects had an advanced understanding of shape and proportion, and began to apply the same mathematical principles to their own work. Brunelleschi developed linear perspective (, while Masaccio pioneered chiaroscuro (the use of light and shade to make objects appear in three dimensions).

Renaissance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vufba_ZcoR0 Linear Perspective: Brunelleschi's Experiement

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkNMM8uiMww

The Renaissance and the Modern period are separated by five movements, which lasted from the 1520s to around 1900: Mannerism, Baroque, Neoclassicism, Romanticism and Realism. Modern art, as defined by art historians, began in the 1860s with a movement called Impressionism and ended with Pop Art a century later. We are now in the Postmodern, or Deconstructivist, period.

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Asian art follows a different timeline. The peak of Japanese art was Ukiyo-e, from the 17th to 19th century. Ukiyo-e paintings and woodblock prints celebrate da lifestyle of travel and pleasure. In India, artists of the Mughal Empire, from the 16th to 19th century, produced highly-detailed miniatures of people and nature with influences from Buddhism, Hinduism and Islam. Elsewhere in the Islamic world depictions of the human form were forbidden, leading to the flourishing of applied arts such as calligraphy, ceramics and textiles. 6

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One thing which unites great art from all continents is its ability to provoke a reaction. Whilst religious painters of the Renaissance might have hoped to inspire awe, contemporary artists often set out to shock. The conceptual artist Marcel Duchamp was one of the first to do this, in the early 1900s: his most famous works include a urinal and a copy of the Mona Lisa with an added beard and must ache. In the 1960s, Andy Warhol had teams of assistants produce screen prints of celebrities and consumer goods. In the 1990s, Damien Hirst exhibited a dead shark in a tank. All three men wanted their audience to ask themselves: what is art? 8

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www.tate.org.uk

Andy Warholhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdbOrNL

cC0I

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This question is difficult because it is subjective. What is beautiful or meaningful to one person may leave someone else cold. What about graffiti, for example? Returning to our earlier definition, graffiti is an image which expresses feelings (though it may or may not be beautiful) – so is it art? To its creator and a sympathetic viewer, it could be; to others, it is nothing more than an eyesore. The question may never be resolved but one thing is sure: as long as people live, they will create.

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Scenario 1

Two students are in a museum of fine art exhibiting impressionist painting. They are talking about their preference of impressionist artists, and commenting on their painting.

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Faith: What do you think of this one?

Toby: Hmm. It’s by Monet, isn’t it? I’m afraid his work leaves me cold.

Faith: How can you say that?

Toby: I know, it’s a terrible thing to say. Maybe it’s because you see his paintings everywhere – on T-shirts, mugs, even cell phone cases …

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Faith: That’s because he was one of the greatest artists that ever lived. Look at how he catches the light here, on the field. It’s beautiful.

Toby: I just think there are better Impressionist painters.

Faith: Like who?

Toby: Like Renoir, for example. Come and look at this picture. It has a more interesting composition and more detail than any Monet. 15

Faith: Impressionist paintings aren’t supposed to be detailed! That’s how the movement got its name – the artists painted impressions of what they saw, not faithful copies.

Toby: Look, we’ll have to agree to disagree. Taste in art is like taste in food – you either like something, or you don’t.

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Scenario 2

A professional travel writer is being interviewed on a TV program. The writer is offering his/her recommendation of the must-see museums to viewers.

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Matt: Thanks for joining us, Lauren. So today you’re going to tell us about the best exhibitions in the city this month.

Lauren: That’s right, Matt. I have two main recommendations. The first is the Jake Sherman retrospective at the National Gallery. He’s been photographing his native California since the 1970s, so there are some real treasures here.

Matt: Sherman has a wonderful eye, doesn’t he?

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Lauren: He sure does. I’ve always been a fan. My second must-see exhibition is the annual graduate show at Vanburgh College. This show has been hit-and-miss over the last few years, but this year the work is really strong. Sculptor Nina Vasquez is definitely one to watch.

Matt: I hope I’ll have time to see it! There’s only one week left, right?

Lauren: Yes, the show closes on Saturday – and that’s a good day to visit, because the students will be there to discuss their work with the public.

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Note 1

Although Europe remains the go-to destination for classical art, Asia is fast becoming a major player on the contemporary art scene.

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In recent years, Hong Kong has welcomed international gallery “brands” such as Gagosian and White Cube, whilst specialist institutions are also springing up all over the continent. Shanghai’s m97 Gallery focuses on photography; Singapore now boasts The Drawing Room and the Tyler Print Institute; MO Space in Manila plays host to multimedia and performance art. Meanwhile, in Tokyo, a new gallery known simply as 3331 specializes in promoting social inclusion through the visual arts. As well as staging exhibitions, they offer free-of-charge workshops to the public.

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Of course, there are also many established museums and galleries in Asia which draw millions of visitors each year: the National Palace Museum in Taipei and the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, to name but two.

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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Ai_weiwei-.jpg

Ai WeiweiThe Cambridge Dictionary

http://alashaery.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/cambridge-dictionaries_3331.jpg

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http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/willow/history-of-india2.gif

Mughal Empire

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http://www.bustler.net/images/news2/the_royal_shakespeare_company_2011_riba_client_of_the_year_01.jpg

Marcel Duchamp Mona Lisa

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Mona_Lisa.jpg

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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2b/Andy_Warhol_by_Jack_Mitchell.jpg

Andy WarholDamien Hirst

http://cdn.theweek.co.uk/sites/theweek/files/styles/theweek_article_main_image/public/damien_hirst.jpg?itok=IMEG6TEY

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http://www.carusostjohn.com/media/images/213_N89.jpg

Gagosian Gallery White Cube Galleryhttp://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Hoxton_white_cube_1.jpg

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http://s1.ocula.com/anzax/92/92914e1b-4dba-48e6-ac36-e8f49ff891a0.jpg?w=&h=&mw=640

Shanghai’s m97 Gallery

Drawing roomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drawing_room

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http://is.asia-city.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/item_image/stpi_exterior_0.jpg

Tyler Print Institute

Manila MO Spacehttps://manilaartblogger.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/pokong-install-view-8.jpg

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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3e/National_Palace_Museum_(0155).JPG

National Palace MuseumNational Museum of Korea

http://tong.visitkorea.or.kr/cms/resource/49/592749_image2_1.jpg