This actually happened to me. I was in the Fort Worth Modern (an excellent modern art museum, btw), and was having my brain melted by an abstract exhibit, stretching my mind to find meaning in things like a pile of wadded up pieces of paper, when I found a line that went from floor to ceiling. Just a black line from top to bottom. I stood there for a good 5 straight minutes pondering it. Is it supposed to represent a path between heaven and hell? Is it a dimensional deconstruction? A beam of darkness? I looked around for the plaque containing the artist's name, and when I couldn't find it, I finally realized... It was just a seam in the wall.
I purposefully did this at the MoMA P.S. 1 gallery in NYC. There were little rooms off this long hallway that had all these trippy modern art exhibits. Some of them were no more than random little things on the blank, white walls. The utility closet was open, however, and the walls and pipes within were just as white. So I told my friend that we should just stand there and furrow our brows, admiring the mops and brooms. Would you believe it--lots of people came by and admired for a few seconds before realizing what we were doing. It was very funny. Truly why modern art is sometimes just....so full of it...
i asked a sculpturer i know about what he thinks art should do (yes, i ask people things like that. i'm the rage at parties). he said, art should convey a message. I said "no offense, mate, but writing is a much more efficient method at conveying thoughts". "But Iam rubbish at writing", he replied. Made sense to me.
***** it is only an excerpt of the conversation. i was playing a bit of advocatus diaboli. i just feel that words as a mean to transport exact information is much more evolved to do so than most forms of expression like instrumental music, dance or canvas, which are more open to interpretation in context and setting.and yes, while a picture can say more than thousand words, often a thousand words are too many to be exact (i know what you mean, i just find this is a good riposte ;) )
+cephir909 A picture's worth a thousand words. I can write all about the holocaust, but view one photo or documentary film and you'll never forget it. And words are limited by the language you choose. That photo will speak to every human being around the world. Words are less efficient. You're merely confused because you find it easier, personally to write.
Thomas Smith you misinterpret my use of "effecient". the information density of words is usually higher than that of paintings. while say, munchs scream, conveys a feeling of terror very accurately, it gives little exact information on the person screaming, the area he/she is located, why he/she screams, who is the observer, who are the people araound, who did everyone came to be there. a few sentences are able to descrie that accurately. all that aside: it does not matter. non-writing art has usually no intention of providing these informations. the debate whether one or the other is better (i feels as if you are thinking i wanted to go in such direction) is moot. it's comparing an apple with a chair. completely different purposes.
I agree that writing and image making are apples and oranges. I love both, and see no need for competition between them, nor in art in general. It's not a contest. I agree that each of these creative methods have strengths and weaknesses, and lend themselves to different kinds of information. Images lead to an immediate, emotional response, taking in the heart of the situation, with all the visual details, and little of the nuance, although some artists hint at these things with symbolism. Writing, on the other hand, gets in the heads of your characters in a way that painting can't, and can take readers on a journey that is ultimately just as emotional and memorable. It just takes longer to get there. So either one could be more efficient, depending on what information you want to transmit. But, for stating something simple, in a meaningful way, that all can understand quickly, visual art is most efficient and powerful. Just think of the photo of that Vietnamese spy being shot by a US officer. You don't have to know all the specifics, the names, the circumstances. Everything about the entire war can be summed up in that one photo.
I finally understand modern art and art in general. After years having watched this video, I now feel that the purpose of art is to make us rethink the world, until we understand the value of all existing things.
@@Devay99 That is a one-dimensional way of thinking. It is both what you've said and what he said, and it can also be something completely different. There is no one answer to the question.
Those videos are an amazing substitute to books. In our frenetic society none really has the time to think about philosophical or spiritual questions, we just think about practical aspects of our lives, such as work, school or money and we don't have enaugh time to just sit somewhere and read a good book. Just keep doing this for us please, you are making a good thing for umanity.
+Dan Guinto You can't really learn much from this video because it only manages to give you the consensus view of art - what people collectively (on behalf of one another) believe to be true. Learning is about thinking for yourself and developing a personal point of view
+Eric Navyhuskie I was just checking the comments to see if It was just me, but yeah, it does sound way more compressed than normal, especially the intro maracas
Lara Orane "Meta Meta is a prefix used in English to indicate a concept which is an abstraction from another concept, used to complete or add to the latter."
Finally something that's so beautifully in touch with art, culture and education. I enjoy this channel very much and I erg my intellectual friends to be a fellow student in the school of life.
I was disappointed when I couldn't find a video in your channel about the history of art. And then minutes later you uploaded one. Yeay! This would help a lot in my finals paper in Humanities. Keep up the good job!
It's never an insult to ask art to do stuff for us, honouring it the most is asking it the highest task: helping us leading better lives. This certainly made my day better.
Last year for my birthday one of my sisters has sent me the book " Art as Therapy" that Alain wrote together with John Armstrong. Really, it is one of the most beautiful presents I've ever received. If you are looking for a Christmas present that could change the life of a beloved one, there you have it! Thank you for this wonderful video! I wanted to add a quote that really got to me. It is something Joshua Oppenheimer once said in an interview talking about his incredible documentary " The Act of Killing" which everyone should watch and think about. This is what he said: "The true function of art: it "confronts" you with what you already know, but refuse to see." For friends who speak Portuguese I wanted to recommend one of the most beautiful songs by the Brazilian musician Toquinho, called Aquarela, where he compares our lives to a watercolor painting.... You will find everything in that one song and a very beautiful reminder too: Nessa estrada nao nos cabe conhecer ou ver o que virà O fim dela ninguem sabe bem ao certo onde vai dar Vamos todos numa linda passarela De uma aquarela que um dia emfim Descolorira... (To watch the entire interview with Joshua you can search for this on youtube: DP/30 TIFF '14: The Look of Silence, Joshua Oppenheimer. )
I've seen these videos multiple times and am always thrown off in amazement. Thank you for such clarity and concise insight into these pillars of life.
The video was very well done, but to begin talking about history of ideas in art , it is very important to mention the amazing drawings in caves such as Chauvet caves that are probably the first signs of very fine art and the worlds oldest paintings.Nowadays can be related for trying to record moments in time as writing history but also for the human necessity of seeking beauty in life. If someone is interested in this theme I would recommend the film Cave of Forgotten Dreams by Wernner Hezog.
+Benjamin Kham I just finished my history of modern art course for the semester and this video was the icing on the cake. I also recently read the architecture of happiness by Mr. de Botton and all together it made for a very interesting spiral of study.
+The School of Life Wow, didn't realise that Alain de Botton was running this! Alain, your bestselling books are on my lengthy reading list, if I was to only read one - which book of yours do you personally most recommend?
As my opinion is just as good as any other. The artist asks "How can I make more of what is in a way that has not or cannot be expressed by anything or anyone else but me?" That we are all unique yet share many commonalities allows this definition of art to be answered with little overlap and mostly consistently positive results to some recipient somewhere or someday.
Art is mainly a reflection of the artist, and the society it was made in. I believe modern society, when looked upon in the future, will be seen as obsessed with novelty, kitsch, a bit of pretension and lots of self-obsession. The art we produce today will tell future generations what we as a collective were thinking and acting much better than historical records, and the tale it will tell will not be a good one.
+Dimitris Dimarelos The reason is to provide an example of art fulfilling a role successfully, despite its lack of sophisticated craft. You could say the same of Ducio or Giotto. This does not disparage their work in any way.
Very insightful. Though you could take the history of art way back to the stone age and iron age where it was more of a form of communication. Even during the eras of ancient civilisations.
I must first state how much I love School of Life, and I don't want to be mistook here. This is a brilliant, wonderful, thought provoking channel. It's hard to not notice how oriented to western culture many of these speeches are. Especially when you label history from Asia with an entirely different theme. While I understand there's limitations to scope, it would be interesting to get some contrast from other cultures without it being it's own special video.
To me modern art is very pretentious only being reserved for art majors/elitist who can "truly understand" it's obscure esoteric meaning. It seems to me as though everyone is glorifying the virtues of modern art much like the emperor's new clothes. I personally don't find (most) modern art to be very aesthetically pleasing or even at all meaningful (though there are some contemporary artworks I really do find beautiful). I am still highly sceptical of modern art and attitudes towards it.
+Andy Feng Although I find works like "My Bed" incredible and with a great message, I also feel like modern art and many modern artists are very pretentious. Works like "David" and "Pieta" are just breathtaking in their beauty and their power, even if they were commissioned or inspired by religion.
+theamazingfuzzlord Yeah there are certainly some gems in modern art but on the whole I'm pretty cynical about the movement. I don't really like "Art for art's sake". I find art to be much more beautiful when there is deliberate meaning, some purpose or inspiration behind it.
+Andy Feng I don't like modern art either but isn't it "pretentious" to say that something is or isn't art on the basis that you don't understand it's message but scholars do? To me, the meaning isn't diminished because the layman doesn't understand (not to say you're a layman :) ) ; and if art majors/elitist do understand it perhaps it's because they've dedicate their lives to the deciphering of it's meaning??
+Andy Feng "To me modern art is very pretentious only being reserved for art majors/elitist who can "truly understand" it's obscure esoteric meaning" This is the problem with people's view of art today. Unfortunately art is seeming to become a dirty word, either conjuring up images of bourgeois elitist snobbery, or weird sentimental tumblr hipster kids. Why are you creating an unnecessary dichotomy between Art, and yourself? Art is for the people. I think you have an incomplete view of modern art, and are missing the point.
I agree especially when in a single moment one is experiencing multiple thought and even conflicting feelings art, including written art has mastered expressing this and allowing other to feel less alone in their inner worlds.
Gotta love how this guy accepts the poet's take on art for art's sake as correct without acknowledging any counterpoints by people like Frederick Nietzsche. Always gotta watch out for these "infographics" type of channels that purport to give you the full picture.
Great essay again! This is terrific... Thank you - This needs to finds its way to art schools and colleges. To all schools actually. I wish there was a way to extend this material to our younger generations... They are on RU-vid I suppose ... They certainly need to know!
Can someone please recommend a good book, a video or an article (or any other source) on Art History? a source which is as clear and understandable as this channel, which can help understand the chronological order and development of styles etc. Something that helps to sort out all bits of knowledge and put all the pieces together, so to speak
why? literally anything and everything can be considered "provocative and non-mainstream art", so why is it considered of any value? the only difference between a urinal on display in an art museum and a normal one is the later isn't called "art" I can literally put my unwashed undies in an art museum and that would still be called a "provocative and non-mainstream art", but what purpose does it serve? how Does it help us/make our lives better?
A clear turning point in art history, is the renaissance where art 'truly' became art, prior to that it was know as craft-work made by artisans (not artist). Giorgi Vassari wrote the book "Lives of the most excellent Painters, Sculptures and Architects", which is considered the ideological foundation of the art history.
Hi, thanks for another great video! One thing I didn't really like about it is how you used the dichotomy East-West and only mentioned Thai sculpture very briefly as if it was representative of all the rest. The so called "East" includes many different civilizations from Arab countries to India, China, Japan which are not necessarily similar to each other. The point about art being "for art's sake" only it is not something French have invented, but it has long existed in Chinese painting and calligraphy for instance. I am not expert on other civilizations therefore I am not able to provide other examples. Overall the content is very interesting, but I think for the sake of the video would have been better to just talk about "Western" art. I would like to know what you think about it, and thank you again for your work! :)
It is never an insult to ask art to do things for us,to be a practical part of our daily lives. We honor art most whenwe give it the highest task of all: to help us to lead better lives. I can't agree more.
I wonder if anyone has seen PagerU's video titled " Why Is Modern Art So Bad?" on youtube? I know it's a neoliberal youtube channel, but I was surprised to see them put out an opinion on the role art, namely that we need to go back to the days before "art was for art's sake".
+Leo Leon That channel is a complete bullshit. First because we don't live in the modern art period anymore. We've have gone past it's agenda. We don't have manifestos anymore, artists aren't trying to break free from all other types of art. We live in the post-modern (or contemporary, the terms depends on what author you use). Artist in this period are free to do whatever they want, there's no restriction on material and subject.
+Leo Leon I loved that video, then checked out other videos from the same channel and was greatly disappointed. However, I still love the Art video and wish more people would watch it
Have you thought about doing videos on conservation? I think there are loads of really interesting and important philosophical issues to talk about. (e.g. Ecosystem services, Rachel Carson, rewilding, sustainable living (veganism vegetarianism), extinctions of species, global warming, habitat destruction, population growth and increasing consumption, sustainability of agriculture...)
All art is based on the same concept: The communication of a personal perspective. Whether or not you find that perspective enjoyable, skillfully presented, or worthy of further consideration is subject to your own life experiences and mental state.
So modern art tried to escape bourgeoisie society. Ironic that it ended up alienated from the general public and only enlightened millionaires can understand the complexity and mystery of an urinal or senseless colors splashed in a canvas.
The meaning behind Duchamp's 'Fountain' is that everything is art. Or at least that is what I get out of it. I don't think one needs to be a millionaire to understand that, as I certainly am not. I think one of the great things about art is that everyone can have their own interpretation and no one is really right or wrong. Art scholars and the like who tell you otherwise are lying to keep their jobs. Anyway I would encourage you to check out some more of Duchamp's work if you haven't already. He was a brilliant guy, and it's not hard to see the beauty in his paintings and collages.
Yes, very ironic. But art ushered in post-modernism, which is supremely ironic, so I guess it was inevitable. Plus, the bourgeois class must needs gobble up everything around it - can't help itself; that's its nature.
@@riversart2030 I think Duchamp's point was that putting something so random on a pedestal in an art museum makes it art. It wasn't art until he did so.
@@someguy2135 Hmm.. I can't speak for Duchamp but to me personally something doesn't need to be in a museum in order to be art. The urinal was already a beautiful creation. Placing it in a museum did nothing to change that. It did however challenge people's idea of what art was at the time. Can something that was produced to serve a practical function rather than to be appreciated for its beauty still be considered art? To me "Fountain" answers yes to that question. But like I said earlier, art is open to interpretation and I respect yours.
As always, a clear and concise approach to a yet difficult subject followed by a subtle and interesting conclusion. Bravo from France! Your thoughts truly are the peak of my News Feed.
As you guys said, Art should only be made for the purpose of art. I love letting my imagination go far. Your mind should be set free for that to happen.
We make art simply because we can. We are attracted to beautiful things ( the crescent moon, the stars, pretty flowers and butterflies) and we have been endowed with the ability to create beautiful things ( buildings, paintings etc). Sure art is used for propaganda, religious and political, but that's not why it exists. Neither does it exist to give people hope, or help them lead better lives. It's purpose is entertainment. To please us just as the sight of a beautifully feather bird does, to enthral us, to intoxicate us. It serves many other purposes of course, but it is essentially a mere form of entertainment. A stone age spear head is not art, it is forged for its utility, but a beaded necklace is art because it is created with the objective of embodying beauty. Also, a urinal on display is not art. It is a travesty. Modern art relied heavily upon novelty value and sensationalism. Any work that was rebellious and unique was considered praiseworthy. What a tragic turn the investigation into the purpose of art has taken. Lady Gagas with her meat dresses, rappers with their Bling BLing, and of course Miley Cyrus. All this is a result of Duchamp's urinal and the common mindset of early twentieth century artists and their audiences.
Art for arts sake. To see its beauty is inhibited only to ones own taste. Taste is indicative to someones ability to comprehend beauty and is a subtle way to not just see beauty in a creation but ones own interpretation. Hence beauty is in the eye of the beholder and perception a path to ones own appreciation.
for me, personally, art is a tool, a process, or a means to let, make, or express an idea or thought, feeling or sensation, or belief and experiences through different forms and ways of human communication like marks, forms, textures, texts, sounds, speech, patterns, visuals, images, or movements and gestures of our body that we give sense and meaning, or generate our own sense and meaning from ...The visual, literary, and performing arts.
Good subject, brief explanation, right off today art has not the meaning or purpose of 100 yrs ago and before. It served as an informative picture. There were no cameras,tv,Internet, radio,... it was to entertain, a picture says a 1000 words
Well.. I'm not one to create a big topic of discussion so first of all I would like to say that I really like your videos and truly appreciate the effort you put in your videos and the whole school of life on general. That being said I would like to share with you my small bit of criticism. I do not enjoy how quickly you jump onto conclusions, the video was perfectly fine until 6:43 when suddenly it became overly dogmatic. I don't think you have the pretentiousness of saying what art is and/or should be in a dogmatic manner, but it sounded like it. I use the word "dogmatic" not because you stated what's your opinion on what art should do or is, I use it because you didn't bothered to explain the thought that went behind your affirmations. Anyway, I think that's all that I have to say for now, I would very much enjoy seeing an answer from you guys.
amazing video. I was just wondering now...art has always been part of human's lives, since the first men who lived in caves. When does art start to become a profession?
Thank you for bringing a different point of view about the art history, aside of whether I agree or don´t at all ¡¡your videos are incredibles !!! Thank you again !! Cheers :D
Let me tell in the introduction might be an error because the question about the purpose of art was made also by ancient thinkers, i.e. Plato who even condemned some forms of art considering them as mere "copy" of the true reality.
I think that the author might confuse the idea of Western art and Eastern art by giving the example of Buddhist statues and saying the classical art mostly served to the purpose of religion. But if we take a more integral view of the Eastern art, the majority of artworks are never religious. Take 13th-century Chinese painting as an example, it is always about self-expression and self-cultivation by the literati instead of conveying any religious or political message to the public. Of course, I don't deny that traditional eastern painting were under the strong religious influence, but their religious messages were never direct and straightforward. For eastern art, religion, politics and personal will are usually integrated. It would be more appropriate if the topic is western art history. :)
So, the video "suggests" that the greatest artist of our time is Banksy :) What about community art like the Favela painting, will this channel dive into such topics? BTW, thank you for providing us with healthy mind nutrients!
I think one of the most prominent art forms(and this will be UTTER ridicule-fuel to say.) is the creation of simple patterns, for WALLPAPER, clothes, phone wallpapers, furniture. For example I love the French Lily symbol (I think it is called.) It is beautiful, when i see it I get this sense of sophistication from it. But I’m not limiting art as it is a tool that is open to many uses, for good or evil. I think that a big part of it is simply that Humans like beautiful things, the mind benefits from created things, from colours and so on. It seems such a simple thing to say but maybe it is because We are used to seeing design EVERYWHERE, maybe we feel a sense of a hunger for beautiful art, for arts sake like the video says, may not be necessary enough, when I highly disagree, beauty is such a gift, the beautiful part is someone made the form of something. I also see art as a vehicle for emotions, but I find music to be great for that and I personally struggle to put emotion into drawings, not impossible though. But I dunno, imagine no music, no animation, no books, stories, movies. I think we would feel even more lonely. IMO.
There is art because artists have the inner need to express whatever talent they got, simple as that. Since time immemorial. We can't but so, and we seek an audience. How they react to it is the other half of the art history. The church just happened to be the highest bidder. Had it been dentists, there would be a golden mask of Toothankhamon and impressible medieval Temples of the Tooth Fairy all over Europe. On a personal note, I happen to live in a particularly grim, grey and poor part of the world. Concrete, imposing blocks of buildings like caskets all around. Minds are so deformed by this environment that any color or piece of art gets vandalized. True story, ain't telling it for compassion mongering. People in said building tend to live shorter and nastier then those in beautiful and richly ornamented houses. So there is a very practical side to art in the immediate sense. i speak from experience
The problem with this video is that it is only limited to visual art. Indeed, art is much more diverse than its visual form (music, cinema, literature are other forms of art).
art is by no means 'hesitating' about stating what it's really for. This is acctually a very ancient understanding of what art can imply, to say it has a purpose at all. Do we really prefer a dogma presiding the practice of any form of art, imposing a 'function'?
What about the earliest art, cave and other rock paintings, that of potters like Pueblo and other cultures. What was this art for, some is religious but others we do not know.
00:11 Art has a high status in modern societies 01:17 Christianity rapidly gains ground and becomes involved in art 02:15 Art as a medium of inspiration and contemplation 03:15 Art as propaganda for political causes 04:07 True art is an end in itself 05:05 Mark Rothko's enigmatic and abstract works revolutionized 20th century art 05:51 The Venice Biennale opens at the newly restored spaces of the Arsenale 06:42 Art is a tool that helps us cope, communicate, question power, and improve political systems.
