How will i rebut this definition of art: "art is a man-made object demanding to be experienced aesthetically"?

Question

We will be having a debate next week in my Humanities class. Our group is assigned to debate against another group. I really don't have an idea how to rebut the definition. :(

Thanks.

Answer 1

is this a definition for art of visual art??  if it is just art, i would object to the word object.  like the previous comment, music, dance, ect. are not objects.  if it is visual art, then there are no problems.  responding to a previous comment: art is not everywhere....  this is moderist ideology.  a flower pedal falling to the ground might be moving and pretty, but it is not a work of art.  visual art is the manipulation of visual elements to crystalize ideas in an aesthetic way.

Answer 2

First of all I'm curious as to where that came from??? I wouldn't strictly call it a definition, though it certainly seems to be a personal opinion.

   Man made, only relates to that created by man, whether in an artistic sense or not. Certainly ART in a natural sense, exists all around us.

   Finally, and perhaps most confusing about the opinion is "DEMANDS" and "Aesthetically"

   Aesthetics, in a most general sense is defined individually. While you might find a welded stack of old bicycle wheels aesthetically pleasing, I might not. Obviously it's presented  personally as well, by someone wanting to express, even if vaguely. Does that mean it demands one be involved? I hardly think so.

   Finally, and abstractly, "man made object". I suppose the Mona Lisa painting can be defined as an "object", certainly created by a man, and probably aesthetically pleasing to many. Jakson Pollack "Created" what he and many consider ART, and I've witnessed him tossing paint to a canvas stretched out on a driveway. I suspect that too can be viewed as aesthetically pleasing to some, while being a state of total confusion to others. That could also be said of a wire sculpture, left to rust in the elements, in some sense of expressing, evolution, or the reverse.

Just my 2 "scents"

Answer 3

That definition rules out dance, theatre, poetry, etc., none of which are "objects." "Aesthetically" also implies the lack of auditory impression.