How do you (personally) judge whether something is art?

Question

some people feel it has to fit into a category, some people simply feel it has to look good to them, while others look at what went into making it.

When you see a painting- an oil painting for example- what makes you decide if it is worthy of the label "art"?

Answer 1

An oil painting IS art regardless of the quality of the content.

Something being art does not preclude it from also being bad !

Answer 2

if it easy top recreate or not.

sometimes its easy to recreate but no other artiss would have ever thogu os it, because its original, so its art. or maybe its not SO original but its just an amazing piece that took a lot of effort/talent.

i hate it when theres stupid paintingsd in mueseums that nowasdays any artist could draw, but since its by a famous artist its worth 4 billion dollars

Answer 3

It is art when I feel something special while watching it and if the artist is paying his dutty to the social security fund (that is helping the beginner artists to eat during the long years where they are not famous and almost don't sell anything).

Answer 4

I think art is anything that evokes an emotion in someone.  It can be anything from lost and found objects arranged in some sort of way to fine art.  I don't think one is better than the other, but I don't like fad art.  Such as, a few years back people took photo's at the same place each day for a year.  They they cut the different parts and put them together to make a panoramic photo. In landscape it might be a day of sun or a day of snow.  Everyone was doing that and it lost it's value as art to me.  It was more like a craft project that found it's way into the world of art.  It was just a copy of someone else's idea.  To me, a copy isn't art.  I want to feel something.  See something that came from the soul of another person.

Answer 5

Anything created can be art. If you are doing it for yourself, all that is necessary is that you are happy with it. If you are hoping to sell it, other people need to like it. If you wish to become famous then it will have to stand the test of time. Will anyone remember it in 100 years?

There is no single answer to this question. If your 3 year old draws you a flower and you put it on the refrigerator, it's art.

Answer 6

I think that anything can be art, as long as it evokes emotions. That's not to say I could put a pencil on my desk and say it's art, it usually has to be created or captured.

Answer 7

To me, good art is the ultimate marriage of technical skill and creative thought. For the most part I will accept anything that exhibits either one of these characteristics as on the visual playing field as “art” of some sort, but it take a lot more for me to respect the art that has been created. Needless to say I’m not a huge fan of art brut! But then again, I’m not a fan of 18th century landscapes, either. Am I picky? Perhaps. But as an artist I will not accept anything less than the criteria I’ve mentioned above for myself, so why should I accept less from others?  

Answer 8

art never ceases to amaze me...sometimes i make something in my studio i think is pure c**p and people love it...

i am not the know all end all be all answer to what is art and what is not i simply know what i like and what i want in my space and on my walls.

Answer 9

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  I am finding that people like landscapes and with some realism.  Most people do not understand abstract so they look for something they can grasp in a picture.  

To me, I believe art has to speak to me.  If it cannot speak to me, then it is just a picture someone painted, but another person could come along and love it.  This is why I say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, just as art is in the eye of the beholder.