“What makes art good?” – EscapeArt Magazine

“What makes art good?” – EscapeArt Magazine

In our first issue of the publication, we explored the question “What makes art good?”. We looked at both the history of art as we know it; from the early ages of the paleolithic era – and we also interviewed a wide range of artists about their opinion regarding the matter. Rather than reiterating everything that the artists said and going over the history mentioned in the magazine, this article will serve as a conclusion that sums up the questions, the answers and the actions.

So what makes art good?… Who decides which artwork gets exhibited in art galleries or gets sold for millions in auction houses?

This is the question that millions of artists would love the answer to. The simple answer is that there is no answer. In my pursuit in looking for people to contribute towards the discussion in the magazine an art curator emailed back telling me there is no way you can distinguish between good art and bad art.
“Sorry, can’t help you with this. Good luck though!”

The answers I’ve personally drawn from briefly looking at art history is that from the early years of civilazation humans felt the need to pursue creation and its evolution. At first artists tried to achieve realism. Pioneers studied human anatomy and integrated the knowledge they discovered into sculptures the likes of Kritian boy. For a brief moment in time good art represented the art closest to the truth; to reality.

Contemporary art, and even in the paleolithic era art was far from “realistic”. Critics and artists attempted to form systems that rate works of art but we have to agree that this subject is highly subjective. A set of systems that was devised to analyze the quality of a painting cannot be applied for a song or a sculpture. There could be a system for each medium but the reality is that it is close to impossible to create a set of rules for each art form and keep up with all the innovations. That is one of the most beautiful concepts when talking about the world of art: it changes constantly – you’d require a system for each piece of art that exists.

Is art subjective?

The natural answer would then be to ignore any rules and agree that good art is just beauty in the eyes of the beholder. But that isn’t true either. An artist who practices and deepens their knowledge of techniques and ancient teachings will surely create better art than a seven year old. So what makes art good? How can one draw the line between art that is bad and art that is worthy? Is it a combination between technique and subjectivity? What happens when you take a video game. Is that good art? Could games even be considered art?

The answer EscapeArt Magazine came out with is that good art is art that communicates. A piece of work, be it a movie, a song, a sculpture or a game, that invites the audience in a conversation. So instead of answering the question: “What makes art good?” we should ask ourselves: “Does this piece of work communicate with me?”

Unfortunately, the way that the world works at the moment is not what is suggested in this article. Artwork works similarly to how shares in a company work. Galleries and collectors tend to stay informed and create a flux of sales and purchases that will return on investment… but more on that later.

Make sure you check our gallery of art that communicates over on instagram.