What is Art & Aesthetics?

 

(http://artedexperience.blogspot.ca/2012/03/aesthetics.html)

In our last class, we discussed what art actually is by definition, as well as what aesthetics is, to get a general feel of what the course was about and why it was called Art & Aesthetics.
To start off, art has many definitions, anything can be considered art if its viewer believes it to be art in my opinion. However, according to the book ArtBasics, art is physical objects made to be experienced visually and spatially: things drawn, painted, sculpted, crafted, or designed and built. It is intentionally made by human hand and imagined before it was made. Measures of quality are applied to it such as technical skill and craftsmanship, originality and depth of the idea behind the work, a degree to which the finished work satisfies its purpose, and a level of aesthetic achievement. Aesthetics on the other hand is considered the conception of what is beautiful or artistically valid. It is the philosophy of art, one's taste in art or sensibilities regarding things artistically, and it is the experience or response to the perception of an object.
As instructed for this post, I am to select two ideas/concepts/topics that were introduced in class last day and discuss in detail the aesthetics of each item that created the intrigue.
First off, we discussed six theories about the fundamental nature and value of art:
1. Modern Aesthetic Theory
2. Significant Form Theory
3. Significant Form Not As Aesthetics
4. Cultural Theory
5. Relevant Theory
6. Institutional Theory
 The theory here that peeked my interest was Cultural Theory. Perception can make it difficult to understand what is valued in another culture and why. One must know the external factors surrounding the art in order to determine if something is art. Art is the expression of life of the community. (John Dewey) This seemed interesting because unless you are part of that community, you have know way of knowing whether something is a piece of art or has a significant purpose culturally for those people.
We were shown an example of a small statue, Nkisisa, Zaire - Nail Figure 19th Century. (http://www.artsconnected.org/artsnetmn/whatsart/kongo.html) This statue was apparently a record of all the lawful action that took place in the community, each nail was hammered into the statue publicly when law decisions were made. It was not just a small statue made as an art piece but rather a very important object to that community.
The other topic that caught my interest was the discussions about foot binding in China. It was once considered to be very beautiful for a woman to have tiny feet and so at the age of five, mothers would have their daughters feet broken, repositioned and bound so that they remain small for the rest of their lives. It was also a sign of wealth for a man if he could afford a wife that did not have to work or be on her feet all day, it meant he had the wealth to pay others to do the work for them. In my opinion, this is not beautiful however, I am also not part of that culture, which brings back the Cultural Theory. Foot Binding may be something I won't ever understand due to the fact that I was raised in an environment wear such things were unacceptable or cruel.
(http://library.thinkquest.org/J0111742/footbinding.htm)