RussellsAbroad: What is Art?

What is art? The dictionary defines it as:

The quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.

I am no expert on art but as I went on a walk yesterday checking out the recent snowfall, I thought about what art means to me.

The stereotypical art masterpiece, the "Mona Lisa", came to mind. When we were in Paris this summer, a visit to the Louvre to see the Mona Lisa was a must do.

We wondered why this painting, out of all the beautiful artwork displayed in the museum, was so popular? Crowds were jostling to get near it to take photos. There were other paintings in the same room that were much bigger and even prettier, I thought. Just not as famous.

Mona Lisa at the Louvre

A few months ago, we attended a private after-hours tour of the National Gallery in London arranged by the Shell Ex-Pat organization. A tour guide focused on just three paintings out of the huge collection. She talked us through each one, getting us to notice various aspects and explaining what the artist was trying to portray.

I got more out of that brief but insightful one-hour tour than I would have going through the entire place on my own. Afterwards, over a glass of wine, someone pondered: "Did the painter really intend all that meaning? Or are we just making it all up?"

I have decided art is in the eye of the beholder. Here is the "art" I observed on my snowy stroll through the neighborhood: