Art, in its broadest meaning, is the physical expression of creativity or imagination. Art is commonly understood as the act of making works (or artworks) which use the human creative impulse and which have meaning beyond simple description. 'Art' is often distinguished from crafts and recreational hobby activities. The term creative arts denotes a collection of disciplines whose principal purpose is the output of material for the viewer or audience to interpret. As such, 'art' may be taken to include forms as diverse as prose writing, poetry, dance, acting or drama, music, sculpture, photography, illustration, architecture, and painting. Art may also be understood as relating to creativity, æsthetics and the generation of emotion.
Painting taken literally is the practice of applying pigment suspended in a vehicle (or medium) and a binding agent (a glue) to a surface (support) such as paper, canvas, wood panel or a wall. However, when used in an artistic sense it means the use of this activity in combination with drawing, composition and other aesthetic considerations in order to manifest the expressive and conceptual intention of the practitioner. Painting is also used to express spiritual motifs and ideas; sites of this kind of painting range from artwork depicting mythological figures on pottery to The Sistine Chapel to the human body itself. |
