‘Aesthetics is for artists what ornithology is for birds.’

Aesthetics of art has arisen my curiosity for quite some time because I’ve always wondered about what makes a work of art valuable and aesthetically appealing, especially nowadays with the new uprising digital technology and its use in creating art in its different forms. I’ve always loved art and appreciated artworks of several artists, and I believed that there are pieces that are really inspiring, creative and aesthetically appealing, while on the other hand there are art pieces that in my opinion have less value or are not valuable at all!!! That’s why I decided to learn more about art critique and aesthetics in general, and aesthetics of art in particular. I went through your comments and this will be my research title: Aesthetics in art creation and my research question is: What determines aesthetic properties in art?

After I did some reading I came up to a primary conclusion that I believe it’s a bit too early to come up with, but it’s what I personally believe in at this moment due to primary research and my personal experience in art. I believe that art is like any other profession and we need to learn the skills and aesthetic basics in order to be able to produce “Good Art”. I also believe that art is a very broad word and could have several purposes, there is art produced in order to 1- document specific cultural events or that resembles a particular culture 2- decorative art in which a visually appealing piece of art is used as an object to beautify a place, e.x,  statues that are commonly sold in furniture shops 3- and finally there is real pieces of art, which has an artistic value and meaning, and could also be visually appealing and contain aesthetic qualities. That’s why we need to be able to distinguish between real art pieces, arts and crafts, and cultural arts.

Here comes the purpose for art critiques, acquiring knowledge about aesthetics and art critique gives the artist a solid base to create quality art, and distinguish him/herself from other artist. I think that art is not something that can be produced by any person, and that artists must learn both skill and theory like any other profession.  Regarding “talent” in my humble opinion talent is reflected in the artist creativity. There are talented artists and there are normal artists, and creativity shows in the talented artists’ works. I taught young students with excellent drawing and painting skills, who never took art seriously or thought about becoming artists in the future, they were only “talented people”

You cannot Become an artist without a solid base of 1- skill 2- theory 3- art history

I don’t agrre with Lionel, Terry and Chika… lionel.openshaw: In answer to ‘do artists need to know about Aesthetics to make art?’ for me is clearly, “No, but…” here comes the difference between cultural art and real art.

Terry Long: If it looks good, it is good………to you! Then an Ikea photo is art!!

Anyone can make art (whether they’re defined as ‘artists’ or not). Whether or not it’s good/valuable/worthwhile art is another question. Yes but they are not all artists (craftsmen/children/engineers) “Every child is an artist, the problem is staying an artist when you grow up” Pablo Picasso.

However, an understanding of aesthetics could enrich the artist’s ability to make art — but not necessarily YES I think it is necessary…

jkearney-ma-ual-online: Terry the connection between art and money is a tricky one! Like art with the second purpose (decorative art)