Does Context make Art? by Paulo Coelho

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Can art be only recognized by its context or are you able to identify it in any circumstance?

I am asking you this because Paul from Austria, that comes often to my blog, raised this question last week quoting an experience that the Washington post made with the violinist Joshua Bell in the subway in Washington D.C.

You can read the story here:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/...

I am looking forward to your opinion.

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Comments

Latente 囧 www.latente.it says:

My opinion?

i can only recognized art in it's context.

the people involved on "Joshua Bell joke" can be divided in 4 reaction:

1. i don't know who is Joshua Bell, i have no time to stop to listen him.
1.bis i don't know who is Joshua Bell,but i have time to stop to listen this good violinist.
2. looks like Joshua Bell but it's impossible that is him.
3. wtf? Joshua Bell in a subway?

i think that i'm in the 1.bis case

put Da Vinci Gioconda in a public way and everybody will think that is a copy. Find a Banksy graffiti in London streets and you recognize as "art"

find a Banksy like graffiti in Milan and you can't know is is "real" or not

M.

--
Seen on my Flickr home page. (?)
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

hiibiiscus says:

I remember reading about that experiment as well, with Joshua Bell, and I wasn't too surprised by peoples reactions. Most people get too wrapped up in their own world and experience, that they can't expand their awareness beyond a few feet around them..

When it comes to your general question though, I immediately come up with a variety of excuses - as in, there are many different forms of art, and different people are impacted by different things. So the answer would become highly dependent on the person and the subject they are exposed to. ie.

-A musician or someone highly affected & aware of sounds would be the one to stop and notice the talent of Joshua Bell (whether or not they know who it is)
-An artist or photographer would be more prone to notice some type of artwork hanging in a small shop window, be it a Goodwill or Versace window, it would be no matter is the subject was particularly impacting to the individual.

Also, art is everywhere, and can be seen everywhere - but only by the people who have the awareness that makes them capable to see it. Don't you think?
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

the_fi says:

It depends on your definition / understanding of what is 'art', i think....
When I take photographs, for example, I might capture a moment or an element that someone else would walk past, but to my eyes is a thing of 'beauty' or at least meaning......it's so subjective.
Art is a very difficult thing to define.
What's art to me, may be rubbish to someone else.
And more definitely, what's amazing music to me, might be awful noise to someone else....
The only context that matters then, perhaps, is the eyes and ears of the beholder?
:o)
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

Bettina.Schwarz - moved to SeeOneSoul says:

I had previously been unaware of the experiment referred to ... so following your link, I read the article and feel that there are several subjects that arise out of this really.
Regarding art in context - that on it's own is a point worthy of pondering I think. What does "context" really mean. Is context not an environment, a given set of circumstances created by people which thus predetermines the "appropriate" reaction to be given? The observer of the "art in context" is no longer responding freely to the artwork in question, but rather, the response is coloured by the context and thus the response is conditioned into something that leans more towards the "expected". Now, I find context can be helpful at times in order to gain a deeper knowledge and understanding regarding the creation of the artwork being experienced ... I know some art which I have absolutely no admiration for on the face of it, but enjoy immensely when I hear of the circumstances in which it came to be, or the journey it has has taken through the ages and who all it has already influenced ... or what it's significance of the time was.
Other artworks however resonate with the soul and require no explanation. An explanation or context may make the experience richer ... or it might detract from the raw experience of it!

hiibiiscus also made a good point about not every piece of art resonating with every human soul ... some are more prone to resonate with visual arts, others more with arts that appeal to other senses ... Also, not everyone necessarily appreciates the violin.

And even world famous artists will not be known in all circles ... and would go unrecognised.

In the experiment given, I must say that I am in no way surprised by the reactions of the passers by in the subway. I live in London and use the public transport network to get in and out of the city, to and from my job. We often have musicians playing in the underground tunnels ... I see how others respond (or not) and I know of myself how I respond (or not). If a musician in those tunnels is even just vaguely good, I find myself respond ... the music speaks to me and transports me into a beautiful carefree space and I enjoy it!! It very much depends how much time I have on my hands, but its rare that I truly stop to listen and enjoy ... I tend to slow down to stretch the experience for as long as I dare ... and if I have change I do tend to give some money too ... (but then I am the kind of person who buys CD from street musicians and paintings from unknown artists ... simply because their work resonates and I find a profound connection with it). Still ... I generally have somewhere where I should be, so I hardly ever stop. And most folk simply race by - they are in a rush! And yes, they are entirely self absorbed!! That is the sad condition of the human race - particularly in busy cities - folk are excessively self absorbed! and have little or no perception for what is going on around them or outside of the clamour of their busy minds!

I think in the example / experiment we are discussing, there are a multitude of factors that play a role ... it is not just down to recognising art in context.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

wimdejonge says:

Art as a concept only exists in the mind of people who call something a work of Art. I think it cannot be seen in a way that is independent of perception and opinion. Therefore, it needs the context of an Art appreciator.

Art studies define the idiom of most artists, although that is rapidly changing with the rise of internet, which seems to have the tendency to democratise everything, including Art and other such old concepts like Reality.

So, in the context of ever changing times and opinions about Art, I would say that Art/art is merely a byproduct of human existence, a record of its time through the senses and expressive ability of an artist. In that sense, Art is completely contextual, like everything else human beings produce.

I do not think there is such a thing as Art that transcends a certain context. If we say that a piece of Arts is ahead of its time, we merely say that most people were oblivious to the developments in a certain time, or that the artist was lucky to make something that happened to resonate with a lot of Art appreciators in later times.
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

grapegraphics says:

If e'er we should listen... are we so blind and deaf not to see what's around us?

'Stop and smell the roses.'
Posted 12 months ago. ( permalink )

mimu// says:

art makes me wanna become a plummer.
fridge would most definetly offer more things to eat.
every one needs a plummer now and then.
if no plummer is around when needed... eeew. artists are tolerated as the cultural aequivalent of selling indulgences.
thinking makes people sad, thats why artists cut off body parts in order to become famous painters when their leftovers rot silently in momma earths womb. i like black squares and i love toilet seats. but i still don't have the recipe for art or how i can get rid of my sadness.
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

smithcl1950 says:

Our American lifestyle - busy, stressed, materialistic- leaves us too distracted to recognize art even when it is right in front of us. It is unfortunate that a musician of that caliber was basically ignored, but then we ignore even our most precious gift, our children, on a regular basis. I teach first grade. The children want someone to listen to them more than anything else. Their parents are too busy - working, keeping up with the Jones, on the cell phone, playing video games, or doing drugs. What happened to us???
Posted 10 months ago. ( permalink )

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