Art – (Non)sense?

As members of an art association that primarily engages with modern and concrete art in the Kulturspeicher collection, we are often confronted with the question: Is that art? Simple squares and circles on a canvas or a wire twisted in on itself – often you hear similar statements like this: "I could do that too, it doesn't take talent for that. That doesn't make sense as a work of art." With a final snort, the speaker then turns away from the picture and looks for something that in their eyes is more art.
But does art have anything to do with meaning? Does art need meaning? Is art meaningful or pointless and free of meaning? Or is art only full of meaning when every viewer immediately understands what the art is trying to achieve?

Does art need meaning?

To pursue this question, one must first define what art actually is.
Many well-known figures of contemporary history attempted this definition and differ in their answers: whilst Goethe describes art as "a mediator of the inexpressible", the painter Paul Cézanne calls art a "harmony parallel to nature". Art is accordingly something not natural, something man-made, conveys feelings that language cannot express and provides hope and inspiration in its existence. But which areas does art encompass? Is it only painting and visual art?
Following the common definitions for this, art originally recognised in antiquity only lists music – visual art had only the purpose of representation through sculptures. In the Middle Ages too, visual art was a communicator, for example between the church and the illiterate church audience. Art, through its expensive materials, the necessary talent and usually privileged content, was a representation of one's own power – art was meant to show the world what one could achieve and wanted to achieve. In the early modern period, the function changed little – however, not only persons of nobility could afford art, but also merchants and other wealthy persons. Art was a luxury good. But what about today? Does art still fulfil a purpose today? The estate society no longer exists in this sense; every person can achieve something regardless of their social background – yet art remains a status of enjoyment and luxury. Nowadays, the artist is not a "tool" of another person, but an independent agent with their own feelings, inspirations and motivations, which they allow to flow into their artworks.

But who actually decides what is art and what is not? May one deny art meaning and justification for existence in general understanding? What does art do to us and is there really art without meaning? To answer this question, we asked around in our association and collected some statements:

"What's interesting about art? It possesses meaning and meaninglessness at the same time, in every form and variant. For the artist it makes sense, for the viewer it doesn't or vice versa. In short, art is not something that is consciously created. It even lacks all logic. It is first and foremost an expression of emotions and can in the process also evoke new ones. Thus every artwork is unique because it is always individually interpreted and evaluated." (Nadine)

"To call art nonsense does not take away its significance, but rather frees it from direct organic sensations. In nonsense, art finds its meaning apart from causal, reason-guided conclusions. In doing so, space and openness are created for aesthetic experiences; thinking and change processes are initiated." (Maria)

"Art is rather meaning. It is a natural reaction and a by-product of human experience. As humans, we have the impulse to recreate our world and experiences so that we can make them more understandable and interpret them. The result is art, which reflects our world, environment, emotions, problems and humanity in many different forms and media." (Meghan)

"Art doesn't actually exist at all! At least not on its own, but only in dependence on our own, subjective perspective on it. In other words: anything can be art if we consider it to be. Art makes sense for whoever attributes meaning to it. In doing so, it frees us from the pressure of social consensus: nobody can control what we perceive as art. In our contemplation of art, we are completely free and completely ourselves." (Lara)

"Art differs from non-art above all in that it serves no purpose. That is precisely what makes it effective, because its meaning does not narrow down to a task – just as a bed is primarily there so that you don't have to sleep on the floor. Once it has accomplished that, its task is more or less fulfilled – but rather opens up a thinking process. The most famous bed in art is probably the one by Tracey Emin, which differs in hardly anything from other beds, except that it stands in a museum. It displaces its original meaning and makes room for something else that needs to be figured out. But this meaning is no longer prescribed by the maker; instead it arises only in the viewer, and is different in 100 heads 100 times over. This creative misunderstanding makes an object into a work of art." (Philipp)

Can one ascribe meaning or non-meaning to art? – That is probably something each person must
decide for themselves

As diverse as we humans are, so diverse is our view of and feeling for art. Perhaps there is no such thing as "art" after all, but infinitely many individual ways of processing the world and sounding out our own position in it. In our aesthetic perception, we are certainly shaped by our surroundings, but we always have the possibility of questioning our ideas and thus perhaps finding ourselves anew. A liberating approach is to disregard the search for meaning behind art when engaging with it and to place solely and exclusively the feelings that art evokes in the foreground.

What should art be for you? No matter how privileged and elitist art may seem to some – generally no prior knowledge is required to experience art. Embark on the journey of discovery and you will find that it takes nothing but a bit of curiosity and openness. Don't feel bad if you don't like or don't understand an artwork – art should make your life more beautiful, not more complicated. In art there is something for every taste, because: no matter how strange you are, there is always still Salvador Dalí.

If you now feel like engaging with art in a great group and getting a glimpse behind the scenes of a museum, then do drop by us. We look forward to seeing you!

Tamara Hauer, Lara Turtur
from the association: MiKs – Young Friends Friends Circle Kulturspeicher Würzburg