Form: This object is sleek, smooth, shiny, black, and happens to be bolted into solid concrete. The piece is missing bolts near the bottom and has a tall, curvy shape.
Aesthetics: This piece gives very peaceful vibes. Although the color may suggest darkness, the shape and texture represent something quite silly and liquid / interesting.
Content: This art shows us what life is like, or in a more specific case, what college is like. Wavy, looks dark from the outside but is actually silly and interesting. College is unstable and different for everyone, hence the unhinged bolts. The shape offers a story of how one does in college, starting at the bottom, moving up and down and eventually leaving at the top.
This piece was already art, us putting a rectangle around it changes nothing. All it would do is make people look at it but it isn’t our job to force others to recognize art, and putting a frame limits the art, someone else’s view may be much more than what was contained within our little rectangle.
The art will continue to stay art long after the rectangle is gone, the question is: Will anyone else ever notice it again?
Art has nothing to do with what object it is, it has something to do with what meaning we gave that object. Before my mind wondered off on some random imaginative spew about it explaining life in college, it never meant that to anyone. We make art, art does not exist without a maker.
Art can of course be something other than an object. Art can be people, people were made and people are beautiful, wonderful things that can be admired as an artistic masterpiece.
Art has nothing to do with the experience of the viewer. Something may be art and go unnoticed forever. Ignored and walked past, the piece will maintain it’s beauty secretly. Art doesn’t have to be noticed and appreciated for it to still hold value as art.
John Morago's Visual Art Blog 