Human beings have been creating art ever since the first caveman picked up a stick of charcoal. But what is it that turns a piece of craftsmanship into a work of art?
What is art anyway? It doesn’t even have to be in a gallery. For example, a life-sized sculpture of a naked man by British artist Anthony Gormley was placed on the sidewalk across Waterloo Bridge in London. Had it been in a conventional art gallery it would not have received half the attention it got from passers by - some turning around to inspect it more closely. Gormley placed similar sculptures on the roofs of high buildings and people wandered around, trying to spot them. That's the sort of thing that makes people ask questions - and questioning is part of what art is about.
Visiting an art gallery is another, and the most usual way of looking at art. But, again,what is art? Go to the Tate Modern on London’s South Bank and look at the huge, one-colour, canvases by Mark Rothko, or pop over to the National Gallery to gaze at a Rembrandt self-portrait. Why are two paintings so completely different considered to be great works of art? And why, if you or I covered a big empty canvas all over with purple paint or created a representation of ourselves, would our work not be considered a masterpiece?
Well... that is the question, and this is what art galleries are for. They are places where we can check out hundreds of works of art and try to understand what makes them great. It’s not something that happens overnight but it’s a fascinating journey. We don’t have to like everything we see but the more we see the more we find that we do like. Ask questions. Buy a book in the gallery shop which describes the collection, ask someone who you know is interested in art. Once you are hooked it’s with you for life.
