Art- Then Versus Now! Where Is The True Beauty?

|By- Sahej Kaur|

To be brutally honest, I am not the kind of person interested in the form of the art, the colours used or the strokes drawn. I am a person interested to play with colours and the read the deep meaning hidden behind them. I am always curious to study the colour combination used in the picture. However, this is my vision of art, but what do we mean by art today? Why it is getting difficult to understand the depth of art these days? Here, art means the visual art consisting of colours, brush strokes, shades, tints etc.

Well, we all know that art has got much less deep than it was before. Back then, art was complex yet serene and the meaning behind it was really impasse thing to understand. Today, art is presented simple and it has no great meaning hidden behind it because we never try to be different. Every artist tries to find solace in his creativity which ultimately leads to clumsy work.

On the contrary, it’s a polemical statement that art cannot be defined because of the variety of colours used in it. Firstly for a newbie, I would define art as a process of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions of a human being. It encompasses a diverse range of emotions, creations and expressions.

Interestingly, the 20th century was a turning point in our conception of art, which is mainly why contemporary artists often reach for new concepts, break with tradition and reject classic notions of beauty. However, all these factors have given birth to abstract art. The artist no longer tries to reflect reality, but rather tries to give expression to their inner world and feelings. The old definitions of art have become obsolete. Today, art is an evolving and global concept, open to new interpretation, expressions that are way too fluid to be pinned down. Modern art has come up with various changes and different ideologies. Although for me, art was never my cup of tea ever since my mother gave me a set of colour bottles, I never lost my friendship with them.

I have literally observed that these days if we try to create a masterpiece, it has a very precise and definite design. However, the old masterpiece is well decorated with details, ethnicity and most important authenticity. This massive change that has taken place in 20th Century artwork is because of reinterpreting the traditional motifs. Yes, the artists must traditionally take inspiration from the philosophical thought that the "absolute cannot be created nor destroyed but it can only be felt and understood”.

As such, the universal language of abstraction-ism is also not new. Using traditional abstract forms of expression on canvas, Indian art has really become global. Taking a closer look at the trends in Indian art over the years, we find that not only has it explored its own past, delved deeply into symbols and expressions available in our own culture but it has taken this journey further to impress and impact the art world.

Interestingly, Art is introduced in technology. More and more artists are integrating technology into their work; sculptors have easy access to a variety of mediums and raw materials. Art installations using sophisticated electronic devices have lost the true touch of painting. To be honest, again, I feel that a true feel of art cannot come from all those big fat sophisticated machines. Instead, the artwork, the masterpieces created with hand using different emotions makes a true piece. What are your thoughts on this?