Art has been described as anything that catches the eye, draws attention and communicates something about its creator. It can be a pencil sketch, a photograph or a 200-year-old painting in the Louvre. Art is often viewed in the context of its time and in the light of the different art movements and styles. In addition, some artists have aimed to use art as a tool for political change. Examples include the avant-garde arts of Dadaism, Surrealism and Russian constructivism.
Some people use art as a tool to understand the world around them and others simply enjoy the aesthetic experience of beauty. Art evokes a range of emotions, from happiness to sadness. The artist’s intentions in creating the work are not necessarily clear to the viewer, but they may be implied by the choice of subject matter and style.
The earliest definitions of art, such as the one provided by the Greek philosopher Plato, simply stated that it was created to delight or please the senses. This was later extended to include a more subjective meaning such as conveying ideas or emotions. Other scholars have defined art in more technical terms, focusing on the seven elements of line, shape, form, space, texture, value and color. This broader understanding of art is sometimes referred to as Modernist art.
Some of the most evocative works of art are those that capture movement, whether it is a sense of energizing growth or an uneasy stillness. The artist might express this by using abstract elements that suggest motion (shapes that seem to change, objects that seem to move or a scene frozen in mid-action) or by depicting kinetic art involving moving components (i.e. sculptures with rotating parts, video or film art).
Art has also been used to teach and to commemorate significant historical events or places. The artist might choose to focus on a specific aspect of the event such as the struggle for independence from colonization or a celebration of a great victory, or he or she might choose to focus on the overall effect of the event.
In many cultures, the rise of secular art coincided with a shift away from idealized spiritual and mythical images to depicting real people and everyday scenes. Portraits, classical busts and monuments began to replace the sculpted figures of gods or warriors.
In contrast, some contemporary artists have attempted to expand the definition of art to incorporate a requirement for novelty or originality. They have argued that this is the only way to explain how it is possible for an artwork to appear so radically different from all other previous works. Other scholars have disputed this claim, arguing that the concept of what constitutes art is inherently dynamic and that it is difficult to pin down exactly which properties are necessary or sufficient for artworks to qualify as such.