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Define: Art Scholars often describe art as a product or item that is created with the intention of stimulating the human senses, mind or spirit. A work of art is normally judged by its impact on people, the number of individuals who can relate to it and how much it is appreciated. Art, in its broadest sense, is defined as “an arrangement" or "to arrange." In this sense, art is created when someone arranges things found in the world into a new or different design or form, or when someone arranges colors next to each other in a painting to make an image or to create a pretty or interesting design.
The word ‘art’ refers to specific activities or creations of human beings that have importance to the human mind and form an attraction to the human senses. Therefore, art is produced when a human being expresses himself or herself. Art is sometimes useful and practical, such as a sculptured clay bowl into which objects may be placed. Or art may be purely aesthetic. People often disagree on how to define art; but most agree that individuals are driven to artistic expression due to their inner creativity. Art includes drawing, painting, sculpting, photography, dance, music, poetry, prose and theatre.
History: In various cultures, individuals believe that art belongs to the person who made it. They assume that the artist transfers his or her "talent" into the art. In this view, the work of art is the property of the artist. In other societies, people believe that art belongs to no one. Their assertion is that society has poured its social capital into the artist and the artist's work. In this view, society is a collective that has contributed to the art through the artist.
There are sculptures, cave paintings, rock paintings and petroglyphs dating from the Upper Paleolithic era, about 35,000 years ago. All of the great ancient civilizations, such as Ancient Egypt, India, China, Greece, Rome or Arabia had works and styles of art. In the Middle Ages, most of the art in Europe depicted biblical stories in paintings, stained glass windows, and mosaic tile floors and walls. Islamic art included geometric patterns, Islamic calligraphy and architecture. In India and Tibet, painted sculptures, dance and religious painting were prevalent. In China, the arts included jade carvings, bronze work, pottery, poetry, calligraphy, music, painting, drama and fiction. The numerous Chinese artistic styles were usually named after the ruling dynasty.
In Europe, after the Middle Ages -- also known as the Medieval Period or the "Dark Ages" -- there was a "Renaissance" which means "rebirth". People rediscovered science; and artists were allowed to paint non-religious subjects. Artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci continued to focus on religious works, but they were now permitted to create mythological paintings as well. These artists also invented linear perspective, where objects in the distance appear smaller than objects close up in the picture. This was new; because in the Middle Ages, artists painted all the figures close up, with subjects overlapping each other. In the late 1800s, artists in Europe, responding to Modernity, created a wealth of new painting styles -- such as Classicism, Romanticism, Realism, and Impressionism. The history of twentieth century art includes Expressionism, Fauvism, Cubism, Dadaism, and Surrealism, and Minimalism.
