Example Of Looking Into What Makes Art Essay

The image you are presented with in this paper is the image of a men’s urinal which was placed on a pedestal and placed in a gallery. It is common knowledge that art is a field within which various controversies and conflicts may arise concerning the criteria upon which something is considered to be a piece of art or not. Apart from the line, the shape and the form of a piece of art which follows regulations posed by different artistic movements as far as the balance, the format and the depth given in a creation are concerned there are various elements which some tend to take seriously into consideration whereas some others seem to pay very little or no attention at all. Nevertheless there can be no line drawn between what is supposed to be art and what is not since art is foremost the free personal expression of the artist who either aims at putting across a specific message or simply finds a way to express the feelings, thoughts and reflections of his / her inner self without aiming at any further. Whatever the case, there are always those who will find they recognize common elements of themselves in an artistic creation or will stay unaffected. Beyond art critics, artists, political factors which affect artistic creation and any other kind of factors which play their own important role in the field of art affecting movements, artists and creations, art is beyond any shadow of a doubt a personal matter. Art is personal to the artist and personal to its audience. Art is to speak to the mind and soul of those who are to be approached. But since each individual carries his / her own mentality and perception of life, it is logical that art cannot speak to all equally. Therefore, when one common mortal expresses his / her opinion on a piece of art then this is a clearly personal matter. This essay will present you with my personal belief on this image and whether this is art or not.
This is a men’s urinal of white color without any color schemes, any contrast or intensity in color, any special rhythm or style. It is just a urinal, a common urinal of no special value since it is what can be found everywhere. It is a realistic piece which is not easy to be judged on the way it is supposed to function. Does the artist wish to give it a specific context or content? Is it supposed to perceived not as urinal but as a piece representing not Conceptualism or Formalism but the movement of Abstraction and non –objective? Since the Paleolithic period when the first humans started looking into the mysteries of nature trying to rationalize them or simply take control of them without feeling fear, there have been great changes in artistic expression. One thing is for sure though. People have always been conquered by their innate need to express themselves through art. In the Neolithic period art followed the steps of the Paleolithic one with a certain progress in the materials used whereas in Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece artistic expression reached numerous peaks since due to the evolution and development of these ancient civilizations artistic expression was empowered by the emotional development of people as well as their economic power which enabled them to invest money and time in artistic creation. Both Archaic and Classical art periods of Ancient Greece as well as the Hellenistic one, have been causing great and constant admiration to people all over the world, ever since. There has been a halt in artistic expression and creation during the Middle Ages since it was the period of darkness, strict religious restrictions and lack of freedom which led to limited artistic creation which opened its wings and started opening the path to the following Early Renaissance and High Renaissance through artistic creations which put people into the center as human beings whose values and principles ought to be derived from the classical civilizations of Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. Ever since Art has followed different, numerous paths with specific movements and trends marking its course like Northern High Renaissance-Baroque trend, Rococo style, Neoclassicism, Romanticism, Realism, Impressionism, Post-impressionism, Cubism and Abstract Expressionists.
The urinal carries as a kind of artistic creation elements of impressionism since it definitely does create a strong impression on those looking at it. How can a urinal be considered a piece of art? It can if it is to be seen as an abstract idea signifying something else. To me this urinal is the expression of males who are not ashamed to share the idea of their very personal moment in a purely female dominated world. Men constantly seem to feel threatened by the domination of females in numerous fields of nowadays world. One way to deal with their fears and their being puzzled on what their new social role is, could be their sharing very personal moments of their sex with all. This is part of who they are, they know they are different from females, yet they will try to redefine their social role and identity in a multicultural and highly enriched in ideas, perceptions and beliefs that everything depends on the way one decides to see it, world.