Imagine sitting down for this semester’s art class when legendary Chinese artist Ai Weiwei is your visiting professor. Where would your line of questioning even begin; His creative inspirations? His politics? His favorite filter on Instagram?
Students at Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK) recently got that opportunity and cut straight to the point by asking the question that has boggled great minds since the beginning of humanity…What is exactly, is the definition of Art?
According to Deutsche Welle, Weiwei hilariously responded “I am unable to say anything about this…” After a moment of reflection, he hilariously continued, “It’s a bit like with sex. One can have a lot of experience, and nevertheless find it extremely difficult to define.”
So how exactly have other artists defined what it is to be an artist?
Andy Warhol (1928-1987), American pop artist
Jacques-Louis David (1748–1825), French painter
Georgia O’Keeffe (1887–1986), American painter
David Hockney (1937–), British artist
Marc Chagall (1887–1985), Russian-French artist
Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), Spanish painter
Paul Klee (1879–1940), Swiss painter
Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968), French-born American artist
Henri Matisse (1869- 1954), French artist
James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), American-born, British-based artist
Sol Lewitt (1928–2007), American artist
Paul Gaugin (1848–1903), Peruvian-born French artist
Edvard Munch (1863–1944), Norwegian artist
Like this article? Watch multi-media artist Sara Rahbar explain the role that art plays in her life, or other exclusive artist interviews.
