Argumentative Essay On Art

Art according to the Webster’s dictionary,” art: works created by artists: paintings, sculptures, etc. that are created to be beautiful or to express important ideas or feelings.” Art can be beautiful, confusing, offensive, and stir emotions in people one may not anticipate. The question that one may ask is, “How does one determine what art is?” Art is to one person different to someone else. Art is subjective to anyone’s beliefs, styles, and opinions. Graffiti is a great example of this unanswered question. To some graffiti is seen as vandalism, and unlawful, but Roger L. Welsh makes and excellent argument in his article, “Off the Wall.” He writes “When did this need to make one 's mark on the public walls begin? It certainly didn 't begin with aerosol cans. In almost every state of the Union, hikers, prospectors, and sportsmen find ancient Indian petroglyphs (a fancy word for graffiti) tucked away in sheltered rock nooks and crannies: animals real and imagined, spirits, human figures,

Harvey writes,” A Fire in My Belly—which contains an eleven-second sequence showing a crucifix crawling with ants—was removed from the exhibit “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture”, “ in response to complaints from William Donohue of the Catholic League and Representative John Boehner, neither of whom had seen either the video or the exhibition.”(1) The Smithsonian ultimately gave in to the religious and political pressures removing the film from its display. The human condition is hard wired to judge and question. Art provokes this urge to pass judgment on others. Using provocative subjects and offensive themes, art helps open minds and spark conversations we as a society might not engage