Then you don't believe music is art? That dance isn't an art form?
Getting back to art and craft as complementary, I can give two musicians Mozart sheet music. Their level of expertise with the piano will dictate how I respond to their performance of it. I can give a beginner bonsai enthusiast and Bjorn the same tree to style. Their level of craft will determine the quality of the output... even though both outputs would be considered art. My kid in kindergarten produced a lot of art... but his craft level was low.jhnvn
This is a fantastic point and one I see so often misconstrued in these debates. Art does not become art when something is finished; it is not art only when it's hung in a gallery. There is no minimum quality level required for something to be art. You don't have to like it or agree with its message for it to be art.
Art is the
process. From a finger painting or a rough sketch to a priceless Rembrandt, every step along the way is art. Art is rarely "finished". As an artist, you simply get to a point where you're sick of looking at the thing, or you run out of time/budget to continue on. Most artists will tell you there is more they wanted to do or could have done.
Bonsai Nut's explanation of art vs craft earlier in the thread is excellent as well. There is little meaningful differentiation between these words. I wrote a rant about this in another thread already, so I'll keep it brief: what is considered art or craft is mostly down to social standing. At least in Western culture, "fine arts" (painting, sculpture, etc) were generally taught to and produced for the consumption of wealthy people. Crafts (carpentry, weaving, etc) were generally more practical things working folks did to make a living or fulfill a basic need. Even by these standards, bonsai falls more in the art category than it does in craft. But again, you can not have art without craft, so it's not very productive to try and differentiate the two.
There isn't a clear distinction in Eastern culture either. Forging swords and knives, brewing sake, preparing tea, these are just a few examples of things revered for both their artistry and craft.
Going further, I'm not a fan of phrases like "pre-bonsai", as they require us to accept the notion that the tree exists in binary states. There is no magical switch that flips where your tree transforms from a pre-bonsai to a bonsai in training or to a "proper" bonsai. The entire act of growing a tree as bonsai is part of the process. It doesn't matter if it's well remified or if it's a tree worth showing. You're practicing the art form. Similarly, an idea for an artwork and an initial sketch for that work are both part of the process of creating art. They may be more distinct than the early and late stages of the tree, but the final painting does not exist without them, and when it comes to evaluating art, we don't push them off to the side and say only the painting is art; the rest is something else, craft, preparation, or whatever. No, every second of the process is art.
Intent is key. If you set out to produce a bonsai, a painting, or a sculpture, you are intentionally engaging in the process of art.
Lastly, it doesn't matter one way or another whether the tree is living. There is nothing in the Art Handbook that says works of art can not be living. In any case, we don't need to find a direct equivalent to another art form for it to be considered art.
