There seems to be much confusion about what we mean when we use the word art. I have a recommendation. We eliminate the word art and replace it with work and develop the following descriptions:
1. Work that goes beyond its functional intention and moves us in deep and mysterious ways we call great work.
2. Work that is conceived and executed with elegance and rigor we call good work.
3. Work that meets its intended need honestly and without pretense we call simply work.
4. Everything else, the sad and shoddy stuff of daily life, can come under the heading of bad work.
This simple change will eliminate anxiety for thousands of people who worry about whether they are artists or not, but this is not its most significant consequence. More importantly, [describing art as work] can restore art to a central, useful activity in daily life---something for which we have been waiting for a very long time.
From an interview of Milton Glaser by book designer Chip Kidd:
...Glaser revealed his design process, he said he starts with a drawing done by hand, scans the image and transfers it into a computer where he modifies it electronically. “I love the computer. I hate stupid work done on the computer,” he said.
“Art is fundamentally a survival device for the species.” Glaser proclaimed art appears in every culture and helps us survive because it makes us pay attention, “Every work of art we love makes us attentive, if it doesn’t, it’s not art.”
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