Art or fine art: A look into usages

What is fine art? Some people say fine art is a way to express their perspectives through the form of colors and shapes. Then, what about art? Explaining art is indeed a complicated matter. The explanation of art can go far back to art theories from ancient Greece, the Middle Ages, modern art and contemporary art. Regardless of these time gaps, art reflects thoughts and comprehensive perspectives of an artist through their deep contemplation. Therefore, art is a product capturing a specific time and place and we can say that is its purpose in itself. However, there are some masterpieces that cannot be simply defined by its usage. In such cases, connecting the dots between the original purpose of an artist and the impression that the viewers have in mind is the true process of art.

The question is: Can we call the Cro-Magnons-made sculptures art? Did they make sculptures with a philosophical opinion in mind? There is a chance that they made them for specific purposes. In fact, most of the artworks of our ancestors were made for specific usages or purposes, which can be categorized into several types.

The first is a shamanistic purpose. From our ancestors’ view, human beings were such weak creatures when compared to the grandness of nature. In order to communicate with the invisible god, they made wishes with the artworks that were made with a shamanistic purpose.

The next purpose is visual communication. Visual communication is not a complicated concept, as it simply refers to the letters and drawings of ancient times. The letters became more important since the act of interpreting and using the letters gave people a certain social position.

The third purpose of art is deeply related to the three-dimensional figure. Simply by looking at the Cro-Magnons-made sculptures, we can infer that the ancients made several three-dimensional figures in which they attempted to display specific ideas through these figures. The three-dimensional artworks aroused a special atmosphere, simply by standing in a place.

Overall, the sculptures of our ancients are clearly made for specific purposes. So, should we define them as art or fine art? Kim In-cheol Professor at Vision University of Jeonju | Summary by Lho Ji-young