Hear ! Hear !
'Art is what artists do' is not a statement of fact it is a handy tool for
bringing to a close turgid discussions on the that sterile subject of '
what is art'. The significant point of the maxim is that while it
ostensibly defines art as what artists do, it does not define 'an artist'.
It is a useful example of how statements of the obvious can often be
illogical nonsenses.
To me it is to be regretted that some wish us to move away from one
dictionary definition that art is concerned with the beautiful and what is
genarally accepted to be beautiful. By this definition some engineers
have been producing 'art' for millennia and some 'artists', in the
current age, have not.
I get far more pleasure from looking at the Forth Bridge or Concorde than I
do from steel constructions in art galleries. But when Concorde taking off
brings life to a halt until its deafening roar has passed, I am not so
sympathetic to the 'artists' who built it.
It is also worth remembering that the separation of the words 'art' and
'craft' has been relatively recent.
Perhaps we would be better off if we were bring them together again.
Terry King