Before any discussion there must be definition. Andre Malreaux described the Museum Without Walls, a kind of internet of all art that ever was. But the first and primary discussion is what is excluded.
It’s fair to say that natural phenomena _ sunsets, gravity, birds _ are not of themselves art even though they may be beautiful, complex, and miraculous. For those that nitpick, this Museum Without Walls would be limited to human art and exclude any form of imagined cosmic consciousness.
The contents could be narrowed to anything requiring conception and (possibly) execution. Conception itself is a form of art exercise on almost any level _ Newton’s concept of gravity, or Grandma’s planned casserole. It is obviously possible to judge a concept with no execution. The execution, in that case, is the communication to others, by whatever means, which may or may not include an actual artifact. Always, the execution can be judged on how well it fulfills the conceptualization.
Naturally, that leaves us with almost the entire repertoire of human thought and action as at least potentially art. It is probably useful to think of this vast area as being divided into two fluid sections. The outer amorphous layer of almost anything, and a selected inner section of what is accepted as art with a very small core of “fine” art. But where any given thing fits is subject to change at any time.
Having set the grand scenario, I will restrict most of my future thoughts on the subject to drawing and painting. Even that will require more artificial boundaries before I reach the area I am really interested in.
HuntingtonHarborThoughts 