Art, What is It?...No Really, This is a Legitimate Question.

I just attended an all night art festival in downtown Toronto. The concept was really inventive. The crowds were huge. Some of the 'art' however was less than stellar. My favorite was the bunch of balloons with a string of lights attached. They were supposed to be diamonds shimmering in the sky. Another great 'installation' was on Globull Warming with the proactive message of 'How are you going to cool the Earth?' Read my post below. Do you see the arrogance in the notion that I control the climate?

There were some pieces I enjoyed. However, I don't understand what makes something art. For one, who decides what is art? Second, who decides what is good art? Finally, what is the point of art? I don't know the answers to these questions, but I do know that we are very uncritical of artists and their art. At Regent, art was exalted and anything artistic was acceptable. Now, they have built an artistic wind tower. For a cool million bucks, Regent is the talk of Canada. Great, but I am going to be a bit critical. Why not hire another faculty member or two? Classes are way overcrowded and a chief complaint of students is the lack of face time with professors.

Back to Toronto. It seemed that any and everything could be considered art. So much so that at the end of the evening as we passed a couple of toilets (yes actual units) decorating the sidewalk I made a joke about the artistic qualities of these pieces of sanitation equipment. They were not actually part of the show, but with a number and a description who knows. Having read the description of several installations, the chief end of art seemed to be to explore, to raise awareness or create discussions about whatever. I think the best part of the night was the almost-full moon rising over the city. It stopped many people in their tracks, including me.


mac