DINEROS, JENNIEVY IRISH R.

INSIGHT PAPER

301-E

What is Art? Art is the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination.
Art is an expression of our thoughts, emotions, intuitions, and desires. Art is any activity or product
done by people with a communicative or aesthetic purpose. With these definitions it can be
conclude that art have many different meaning if someone ask to define art.

Art is ageless—never looking old or appealing to grow old and timeless—not affected by
passage of time or changes in fashion. Ageless because there are no age limit in doing art. There
are no rules that only young people can enter to a contestant for an art because art is for everyone.
Like in the saying “Age doesn’t matter”. Art never choose who can possess the talent in art. People
only need to discover it and it needs effort. Example that art is ageless, young artist from
Philippines like Solenn Heusaff who is a self-taught painter and Heart Evangelista who happened
to be an art enthusiast and a painter. A great example of an old artist is Whang-od Onggay also
known as Maria Onggay, a Filipino tattoo artist often described as the last and oldest mambabatok.
Art is timeless because “every generation has their own art” it only means that art has different
version, it maybe look corny the old art for today’s generation but it is the kind of art that boom in
that old generation and the latest art today may fade its trend in the future. Art will never be dead
it only develops because people survive because of art—making shelter, food, fashion etc. Art is
ageless and timeless but not nature because art is constructed by man. If art is nature then there are
no making of basic needs of people—shelter. Nature is just an inspiration of people to make art.
People get ideas in nature because from the definition, art is an ‘application’ of human creative
skill. On the other hand, art involves experience not pure inspiration from nature. The experience
that people acquire to form their artwork. In the same way from saying “Experience is the best
teacher” experience teaches people to create art. It is like a fuel that start people to work. They
create art from their experiences when they feel lonely, happy or angry like for example when
he/she is brokenhearted they express their feeling by creating a song or drawing with black theme
or anything form of art. Imagine if art does not involve experience, there will be no source of
imagination or thoughts, ideas and concepts to create it.

I believe that art always have a function or purpose. For example in tattoo, a person may
ask someone what is the purpose why he/she put that tattoo, sometimes when asked he/she cannot
answer it but deep inside there is a function or purpose. It is just hard to explain what it is because
most people think that they are just following what is trend. For me there is a purpose which is to
make him feel good or happy, it may not be a big purpose but it is considered as function.