Art

Abstract

“Art” is a unifying concept for the entirety of various arts that are dedicated to representing aesthetic themes or artistically designing objects; thus, it addresses both the intellect and the affinity for creative work. The concept of art, which is never static but rather always changing, is part of a European history of ideas and the result of a history of discourse among all the actors who are involved in art (especially artists, customers, the audience, art dealers, historians, scholars, and curators). It is also associated with a work concept that refers to production and the product as the result of a creative act, both materially (the object) and ephemerally (the action). One fundamental question is whether art is attributed to a religious or a secular context, even if both must be seen in many cultures as an indissoluble unit and Western distinctions do not apply. Art as a form of global interaction can be understood as a product of practical and intellectual encounters. Following the geopolitical shift, the locations of art multiplied—institutionalized through worldwide biennials and art fairs. Such new forums for negotiating the concept of art may be bound by location and time, but they demonstrate—independently from the old, Western art scene—a new mapping of the globally expanded practice of art. Within the global context, art is a kind of cultural distinction.