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Have you ever asked yourself the question“what is art?” I mean have you really sat down and pondered this question thathas occupied the attention of thinkers for thousands of years? If you’re like me, you may have spent many hours debating the definition with friends, drinking beers, raising your voice, even crying. But, perhaps I simply disclose too much about my own personal tendencies. Nevertheless, I’m not the only one who obsesses on this and, if you are reading our website, it’s likely you atleast have formed some opinions on the subject.

When we were children, such a question wouldn’t have likely ever occurred to us. Art was simply one of the outcomes ofour instinct for play. We may have taken “art classes” but in those classes, wewere all artists and everything we made was art. At some point, however, we all learned that the term “art” actually existed and, by existing, divided theworld up into art and not-art. If we had grown up in another time and culture,we might never have learned the term in the first place. Many cultures thatWesterners call “primitive” for failing to be as complex or technological as weare often don’t have words for art. For them, art is so integrated intoeveryday life, their art is not seen as distinct from everyday life.

Art, by its very linguistic existence“frames” what we think of when the word is used. Frank Zappa once said,"The most important thing in art is The Frame. For painting: literally; for other arts: figuratively-- because, without this humble appliance, youcan't know where The Art stops and The Real World begins. You have to put a'box' around it because otherwise, what is that shit on the wall?" But who is authorized to construct these frames?

If you take a photograph and crop out whatyou don’t like, you have authorized yourself to define what remains in yourframe and what gets left out. But at the more conceptual level, mereindividuals have less power to construct these frames; we inherit them, we are taught to recognize them, and we are encouraged to accept them as objective andreal, rather than made up and arbitrary. Entire industries and academicdisciplines require this consent; authority is derived from the consent of theart consumer.

The conceptual definitions of art have broadened considerablyin the last century, with all the intrusions of modernism, postmodernism, Avant-garde, crafts movements, performance art, DIY digital technologies, etc.But the concept “art” is still required for all these cultural developments tohave meaning. Even Dadaism, often considered a form of “anti-art,” can only exist as a contrast to traditional definitions of art.

Authority to define art is derived from theconsent of those who wait passively to receive these definitions, even if suchconsent is tacit and remains mostly unconscious. Authority to define art is also derived from a faith that our ability to use language captures somethingreal. You are invited to write anessay on how YOU define art. Consider art, not just in the grand scheme ofthings but also how the definition takes on meaning in your life, with yourfamily and friends, within the sacred circle of your tribe.

Please limit your essay to 500 words or less. Because of space limitations, we will be unable to publish all the submissions. Some will be posted here. Others will be published in a new online magazine that is still in development. We will edit some pieces, perhaps significantly. Include your name if you want the credit or sign it anonymous, if you prefer to go unrecognized. Please besensitive to the disclosure of real persons or events. If you have altered names to protect privacy or otherwise avoid charges of libel, please inform us of this fact. Please email your < 500 word essay to:

Nigel Brooks - gnigelbrookes(at)gmail.com

For responses to the call for essays, click here. [2]

Sculpture pictured: "Lean on me" by Robert Verhees on display in the current Sculpture in the Gardens installation at Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas.