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Dear
Musicians...
"Art" is probably
one of the most abused terms in today's language. It seems
to mean anything from someone's amateur hobby to the great
works of Michelangelo, Caravaggio, and Stradivari; not to
mention even industrially-produced goods. So what is art,
exactly?
According to Wikipedia, "Art
refers to a diverse range of
human activities and
artifacts, and may be used
to cover all or any of
the
arts, including
music,
literature and
other forms. It is most
often used to refer
specifically to the
visual
arts, including
media such as
painting,
sculpture, and
printmaking.
[...] Generally art is a (product
of) human activity, made
with the intention of
stimulating the human senses
as well as the human mind;
by transmitting emotions
and/or ideas. [...] An
object may be characterized
by the intentions, or lack
thereof, of its creator,
regardless of its apparent
purpose. A cup, which
ostensibly can be used as a
container, may be considered
art if intended solely as an
ornament, while a painting may be deemed craft if
mass-produced. Visual art is
defined as the arrangement
of colors, forms, or other
elements "in a manner that
affects the sense of beauty,
specifically the production
of the beautiful in a
graphic or plastic medium"
[...]
Clearly, the
"usefulness" of an artistic object opens the debate to
what's art and what isn't, and has made it necessary to
further refine the concept introducing the definition of
"fine" art, i.e. that branch of art where the final product
is otherwise "useless", or anyway not serving any other
purpose than being beautiful to look at (or to listen to).
USEFUL ART? I believe that there can be little doubt that
this magnificent hand-built 1939 Bugatti Type 57SC, a
one-off creation by coachbuilder Van Vooren, is a work of art, despite the fact that it is also
an automobile for every intent and purpose. Not that I'd use
it to drive to work in every day, of course... as much as
I'd like to...
Although
Wikipedia doesn't come straight out and say it, I believe
that to qualify as art, a work requires also "creativity"
and "uniqueness". Creativity - because the artist is
expressing an original concept, one that he has conjured up
from his own background, talent, and experience, and has
been hitherto unexpressed; uniqueness - because a
reproduction of an original creative work, even the most
exacting, is and remains simply a copy.
It is generally
accepted that Stradivari perfected the violin with his
the famous G-pattern (an undated design, but which he used
from 1710 until his death in 1737) and with which he created
his greatest masterpieces. The originality of the design,
when added to the style of his handwork and skill that is
apparent in the smallest details, makes each subtly
different Golden Period Stradivari a work of visual art
(sculpture), while the object in itself has a different
purpose altogether, like the above-mentioned cup, or the
Bugatti in the photo. For this reason, those luthiers who
today try to recapture with their own instruments the magic
of, say, the 1715 ex-Joachim "Il Cremonese", will be at best
highly distinguished craftsmen - but not artists. The artist
among them will be the one who sets the new standard,
designs and builds the equivalent of tomorrow's 1715 Strad.
Now,
can a violin case also be a work of art? If it
represents a personal expression of creativity and
uniqueness which cannot be repeated, I believe so. In the
violin case with artistic value, part of the value is in the
inspirational, preliminary work: the original idea, followed
by the the defining of the concept and finally it's design;
the remaining part is represented by the skill in the usage
of the medium (materials) to transform that inspiration into
a concrete form. If the end result is something which
creates emotion in the mind of the beholder, stimulates
reflection or even just aesthetic admiration, then yes, that
violin case may be considered a work of art.
If any of you who have
been so kind to have read this far would like to comment on
my thoughts, feel free to contact me at
info@musafia.com. I
thank you for your attention.
Dimitri Musafia
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