Art Heist!

“Let me ask you something, what is not art?”

 

Though the author of this quote goes unknown, it is a general idea that has been stated and restated by artists throughout history. How can one possibly define art? New art develops from the continual bucking of old styles, becoming something new and radical.  This then leaves us in an awkward place, for how can we define something that is in continual motion, evolving from itself and countering its own arguments? 


 “As to what the picture represents that depends upon
who looks at it. To some persons it may represent all
that is intended; to others it may represent nothing.”
                                    -James McNeill Whistler (“The Gentle Art of Making Enemies”)


Here at college, I sit in the atrium of Wyatt Hall, hashing out an essay… Though my mind is far away and focused, I am vaguely aware of something dangling high above my head, looming there.  Whenever I emerge from my computer screen I take the time to glance upwards at the gigantic glass sculpture hanging in the window above my head.

“Chihuly’s Window”

This is art.

This is art because it strikes wonder and curiosity within me and makes me think about it.  Initially, I first think that it looks like a smack of jellyfish; but it also looks like a field of wildflowers.  Though it seems that the green, yellow, red and orange are evenly dispersed, green seems to come forward as dominant; likely because of the green outdoors playing background to the piece from the other side of the window.  Thus, it seems to pull the outside world in through that window and then adds to it; a closeness to nature and the sense of Life and Youth that comes with it. 

Art is always changing though, and the more I look at this glass sculpture, the more abstract it becomes and the less it looks like jellyfish or flowers; perhaps just randomness, something less tangible, one hundred and fifty separate pieces of blown glass that, together, make a beautiful whole.

Random bits of thought that together form a masterfully created idea.

This sculpture is considered art rather than “decoration,” because it is something that creates emotion in those that observe it.  It is also valuable.  Maybe not to everyone; the artist is popular, but not famous. Besides, he is still alive.  But it does have some value, especially to the University crowd.  It has graced the halls of this school for many years, and there is also the fact that the inspiration for the artwork came from the Ivy vines that hug the walls of the University buildings around campus. The knowledge also, that Dale Chihuly (the artist), is a University of Puget Sound alumnus also adds a certain cult value attributed to school spirit and those involved with the University.


 As it gets later, the colors fade as darkness ensues outside. No more light to make it shine.  The atrium is now mostly uninhabited save for a lone student or two stumbling doggedly and glassy-eyed out of their late class.  None looked up, none cared, and none saw the beautiful sculpture.  To them, it is not art; not here anyway, not at this moment in time.  Even with their glassy eyes, they cannot see the sculpture and it evokes no emotion. It is not art. Not here, not now anyway.


“But do you think now that you
could make me see the beauty of that picture?'"


"No! Do you know I fear it would be as hopeless
as for the musician to pour his notes into the ear of
a deaf man.”

-James McNeill Whistler (“The Gentle Art of Making Enemies”)

The recognition of something as art is a conscious choice. Unless one sees the art and recognizes it as art then it is not art. Due to different perspectives and different opinions of what is art, various beliefs as to what is considered art arise; and new styles.  As Whistler alludes to, art is different for every person. If one considers it art; then it is art.


And no one can force anyone to see something as art unless they themselves see it as art also.


Even though the sculpture may go unnoticed by many others wandering through the atrium; I notice it. I see it as art, therefore it is art. I respect its painstaking creation and love the interplay of the colors, even in the fading light it is still beautiful to me and I consider it:

I wonder what would happen if it fell?

                Chaos.

I wonder how it was made?

                Only the artist knows.

I wonder how they got it up there?

                Carefully.

How would someone steal that?

                A good plan.

Well, I suppose one could use a large ladder.

                Where would you get that?

I don’t know. Maybe piece by piece. Or one could just take the whole wall. A crane would probably work. You might also be able to rig up some rock climbing gear....

                 You’d have to be Wile E. Coyote.

I suppose it just wouldn’t work.  Even a hungry college student who is in desperate need of money with which to buy more Top Roman would have a difficult time getting that masterpiece down from there; especially all one hundred and fifty pieces.


However, if one were to perhaps split up the piece, sell them all individually, then there could be much to be made from this art heist; it’d also be less recognizable. 


But by taking the artwork out of its original context as an addition and tribute to the school, one would undoubtedly diminish the value of the piece. Also, since the artist is still living, a replacement would likely be made; taking away from the “one and only” value.

So perhaps it stays where it is.

 But then again, when considering that the prompting of an emotional response signifies that art is art, then is language and literature art? A good book provokes emotion does it not?  A good book can make one weep so bitterly, arouse one to action, teach, and produce amazement or even disappointment. Then, Is literature more powerful than art since it can describe a picture?  Is there some hierarchy here between words and images?  But then again, how could one describe and do justice with words, even the smallest, simplest, most subtle interplay of color that makes a masterpiece? Art is a natural state of human nature. Ever since cave paintings and even before, humanity has been obsessed with this concept of creation and beauty.  In fact, children often learn to draw long before they are able to fully express themselves in words.  For this reason, drawing is sometimes considered a child's first means of communication and is often used in therapy as such. What a child cannot describe, they are asked to draw.

“When my daughter was about seven years old, she asked me one day what I did at work. I told her I worked at the college – that my job was to teach people how to draw. She stared at me, incredulous, and said, ‘You mean they forget?’ ”

– Howard Ikemoto

But then we learn our language and most forget completely about drawing. Rather, we use words to describe everything, even art; and we make art out of words and language instead of paint.


Eventually, some come back in touch with that inner child though and become artists.

And then they create art that words cannot describe.

“The domains of word and image are like two countries that speak different languages but that have a long history of mutual migration, cultural exchange, and other forms of intercourse.”

                                                                                                -W.J.T. Mitchell (“Word and Image”)

There is no hierarchy between word and image, for they are two separate entities.  Similarly, there are so many ways in which to define art that it seems that there is no definition at all.  Art is, essentially, anything that creates an emotional response and/or anything that one so wishes to consider “art” and has a value as such.  Regardless of anything though, art is a moving and evolving entity.  It will always be changing and defying its own boundaries; and therein lies the beauty.



Works Cited:

"Dale Chihuly Glasswork." University of Puget Sound. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. http://www.pugetsound.edu/about/offices--services/university-relations/donor-relations/named-sites-on-campus/dale-chihuly-glasswork/.

"Google Images." Google. Web. 11 Dec. 2011. <http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1>.

Whistler, James McNeil. The Gentle Art of Making Enemies PDF document (via Moodle).