Unique Fine Art Calendars and Artistic Planners

FINE art or FOLK art?

Fine art and folk art are so hard to define, that even wikipedia gives up on it. Still, fine art is for rich people, upper class, educated. It’s sponsored by a few people in high places, including the government. It’s supposed to be different, make you think, keep you challenged. Folk art on the other hand is rooted in the soil, it’s usually figurative, it’s popular, it’s comforting, it’s familiar.

Fine art defined by wikipedia

Fine art or the fine arts describes an art form developed primarily for aesthetics and/or concept rather than practical application. Art is often a synonym for fine art, as employed in the term “art gallery”.

Historically, the five greater fine arts were painting, sculpture, architecture, music and poetry, with minor arts including drama and dancing. Today, the fine arts commonly include visual and performing art forms, such as painting, sculpture, installation, Calligraphy, music, dance, theatre, architecture, photography and printmaking. However, in some institutes of learning or in museums fine art, and frequently the term fine arts (pl.) as well, are associated exclusively with visual art forms.

The term is today usually avoided by academic art historians, and is much less used in any context in the UK than North America, especially in the singular form.

A reader says:

I should say that I just like art. Pure and simple. I find and believe Norman Rockwell to be a fine artist, though they call him an illustrator. Being a realist myself and a lover of surrealist the abstract thing never bit me until I discovered automatism drawing. But, even with that I like to pull pictures out of the chaos. I figured that is what lovers of abstract art probably do, metaphorically make pictures with their minds. But I’m guessing.
Art is a subjective thing that really can’t be defined by one person. That’s what I love about it so much. :) Also, If fine art is something made purely for aesthetics with no purpose, then folk art would be fine art. Fine folk art, has a nice ring to it.
I even like some folk art though, except that Thomas Kinkade. LOL I really despise that dude.

You know the drill. When we went to Paris, we went to the Picasso museum. We had classical music in the car. My grandparents collected art – they even had a Karel Appel painting in their bedroom.

The one shown here is somewhat like it.

I asked my grandmother once: do you really like that painting? She said: yes, I do. I miss seeing it when I wake up. It looks different every time I look at it.

Now, even from this picture of a different painting by the same artist, you can probably imagine that yes: it does look different every time you look at it. Honestly though – I never had the patience for that kind of scrutiny. To me it was just a painting that didn’t look like anything, using bright colors.

I like this one better than the one they had though. Perhaps it’s me.

Perhaps it’s that early training that made me ultimately shun this sort of thing. Though one of the things I do when visiting my grandmother in her nursing home, is look at the art in an art encyclopedia. We can both enjoy that. So the apple doesn’t fall that far from the tree.

Still, abstract art like this is definitely not on my list of favorites. I’m weird that way. I’m also the only one in the family who doesn’t really like high literature.