The Essence of Art: Unveiling Its Meaning and Importance

What is art in contemporary world?

"Anything is art if an artist says it is", I happen to agree with Marcel Duchamp.

Art is "self expression". As each "self" is unique, each expression will, no doubt, be unique.

"Self" is pre-programmed entity by it's inherent genes. It will develop in the environment it grows in and the experiences it gathers along the way in his life. The self will pick what appeals to him/her out of these environments and experiences and will adopt these to create his art.

Choosing the medium to put out it's ideas and thoughts to communicate, is expressing the self.

Artist is the medium between the thought/idea and the visual representation of that idea, which we call art.  If the idea resonates with the viewer or not, is the secondary part because the artist goes on a solo journey and the audience comes afterwards. We just should be able to give free reign to the artist's creativity in expressing himself to portray his feelings and emotions about the world he lives in. If we can do that, we get to experience the unique art through that medium. Open mind and acceptance is the key.

In the contemporary world, art means the same.  It's just that artists have new tools and techniques available to them with which they can portray the world and humans in it, how they see it. Now, the artists have access to the digital media at their disposal, along with the paint and brushes. 

As artist struggles to get the idea out of herself,  either in our contemporary world of the in previous generations, she should have the freedom to explore whatever mediums suits him best to get the idea out, how he envisions it.  Because there is a limit to the evolution of self, like everything else. Take an example of a classroom for better understanding.  Everybody is imparted with the same knowledge but we have 1st rank holder and those who fail and everyone in between in the same class. When a person is pre-programmed by his inherent genes, the way he has developed/is developing IS his "own" perfect form. He cannot go beyond a certain point in his evolution. Stages of art evolution is similar.

Art is "self expression". As each "self" is unique, each expression will, no doubt, be unique.

Right from inviting the viewers into an empty gallery, exhibiting blank canvases and selling invisible sculptures - has been done. All of these is art, because the artists said so. When one digs deeper, one may discover the context, as to why the artists did what they did. 

Art is open to interpretation because each person will have a different impact. How they interpret the art is entirely on the person's perspective and outlook in life. Very good example of it is - whether the glass is half full or half empty. One must have seen the illustrations giving all different perspectives from the variety of artists.

Besides, one can only art about life (and death) and the phases in between. How far the artist goes, depends on how much he has evolved with his experiences in life, his environment. Externally, there is no standard of perfection in art because the measure against which the art is compared/judged differs from individual to individual.

Personally,  for me art is to gain a different perspective on ordinary daily living, in context to my conceptual art titled, "Utopian Musings Of My Mind: experimental art project, yearning to be human: imagining the possibilities". Where my vision for the whole humanity is - "Let me go sit somewhere in the sky, for the earth is now full of bright shining stars (each shining with their own uniqueness)".

About the author -

Filomina Pawar, born in Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar) in 1968, holds a Master’s degree in Commerce. At 21, she moved to Pune after clearing a government exam, beginning her career at the Meteorological Department. There, she encountered artists and architects who sparked her interest in 20th-century Western art. Her artistic journey deepened through her partnership with Belgian artist Eric G. C. Weets. Inspired by his realist works and their shared experiences, she developed her own idealist philosophy. Filomina creates both conceptual and digital art, expressing her emotions and ideas. Her work reflects a belief that art and life are deeply intertwined.