When it comes to selecting art for your home, there are so many styles to choose from. Whether you are looking to add a focal point or complement your decor, finding the right artwork is an important step in building your personal style. You can find everything from modern abstract art to traditional portraits – but how do you know what type of artwork is best for your space? Here are some tips to help you find the perfect fit for your space.
The word “art” has a very broad meaning, and its definition changes with time. In ancient times it meant craft, something you could excel at through practice and hard work. Then with the emergence of Romanticism, it came to mean something more personal, as artists strove to express themselves through their work. It then began to mean originality, and to try and paint movement (Cubism, Futurism). But, as time passed, it has come to be defined less in terms of the artistic process itself, and more about what an artist’s work says about them as a person, as a culture, as a society.
One of the reasons why this has happened is that art has been very successful at communicating things about ourselves and our world to us. It has helped us understand the importance of beauty (see aesthetics); it has promoted certain values like patriotism and love; it is often used to express ideas, both political or spiritual; and it can even be a way to explore our own consciousness.
Art has also been very important in maintaining broad standards of civilisation and is the longest-established of all the cultural activities. Its pedigree goes back far further than philosophy, which is only 3,000 years old, and much earlier than science, which is only 500 years old. It therefore deserves a lot of attention from philosophers.
A basic human instinct for harmony, balance and rhythm. This sense of beauty is a part of being human that goes beyond utility, and is a kind of transcendental experience. It is sometimes referred to as a sixth sense.
The earliest art was found in caves and tombs, but it gradually developed into more than just record-keeping, with the emergence of carved figures of women and animals, and then into pictorial works. These became more and more sophisticated, incorporating the kinds of symbols that were already being used in religious art to communicate ideas or inspire feelings.
The most important element in art is sincerity, because if the artist truly feels a feeling he will be able to transmit it. This is true whether it is a feeling of adoration in a painting, or the raptures of a love story, or courage in a poem or play. The feelings that are transmitted may be of very different kinds, but if they can infect other people, so that those who experience them are like the artist who experienced them – then it is art.