What is ART?

Aboriginal Night, Holmes

Of course I think about this all the time.  As an artist I am constantly aware of the presence of this question– like a sailor of the sky– though it does not often surface to conscious discussion.  I find my definition of art helps me in two directions: to determine which of my own many creative activities is "art", and also to be able to discern if other people's "art" is actually what they say.  Without a clear definition I'm frustrated both in my studio and in a gallery.

The whole subject is very interesting.  Looking at history, artmaking is perhaps the most significant human productive activity.  While cultures create all kinds of things from roads to receipts, art seems to be the one thing that consistently stands above all else in terms of value, and not least because only the latter cannot be "improved" by another culture.  So it is helpful to me to know what is art and what is not.  I have been refining this definition for myself over decades and I am very curious whether others can poke holes in it as it stands now.  If you are curious, please have a go:

What is ART?