Getting to the heart of the matter

Is art not what it used to be? Rebecca Child investigates

What counts as art? To me art has always been something that you admire, something that absorbs you. You marvel at the sheer skill of the artist and how the work is something you could never personally reproduce. But modern art has a different expression.

Contemporary art is more conceptual and the definition as to what can be classed as art is becoming increasingly blurred. One of the fundamental problems with modern art is what it actually is.

A common criticism of modern art is that it doesn’t require any skill or ability to produce the artistic object. The Turner Prize is notorious for causing art debates in this respect. Across the country people stand perplexed as they try to work out the meaning of the work and decipher the artistic skill used to create it. But is the skill of the artist their ability to draw the viewer in and explore their own imagination?

Tracey Emin’s Turner prize-winning piece, My Bed, explores such ideas. Why is her unmade bed classified as ‘art’ whilst everyone else’s morning mess is regarded as untidiness? Emin is insistent that there is a high degree of selection and arrangement in her work and the objects are skilfully positioned to reflect modern attitudes. She presents an alternative piece and was rewarded for thinking differently and being original, whilst also displaying an interest in society. Does the piece then count as art as it invites the viewer to experience the mundane and everyday conducts in a different manner?

Viewing modern art provides a different experience to absorbing traditional work. The Sense of Space exhibition, that featured in Chapter Arts Gallery in October, reflects just this. The exhibition was dominated by empty space and the viewer was invited to recall memories and explain what thoughts the empty space created. This conceptual art was focused on the imagination of the viewer and took them on an emotional journey. But can it really be classified as art? Art is about creative expression and engaging with a viewer emotionally; thus, whatever mode it appears in, if it achieves this goal, it can be classified as art.

No matter what medium art appears in, the public will make up their own minds as to whether they appreciate it. For me, I will continue to admire the intensely detailed work of the Pre-Raphaelites and the raw beauty of the Mona Lisa as opposed to spending my time contemplating how a chair balanced against a wall makes social commentary. However, modern art can conjure strong emotional responses and invites the viewer to appreciate the work in a different manner.

What constitutes art? I’ll let you decide.