Merve Cura - 16

To be labelled a ‘Work of Art’, a painting, sculpture or other art form should display certain qualities that are unique. However, over the past century there has been a decline in the quality of prize-winning artwork and it is now possible for quite ordinary pieces of art to be labelled ‘masterpieces ’ whilst true works of art pass unnoticed.

Do you agree or disagree?

It has been long argued that to consider the creation of an art as a "Work of Art" there are strict criteria that the creation has to meet. Yet, some people believe the idea that recently some unworthy pieces, which have not had any artistic quality, gain this title without regarding criteria while the more valuable ones get no attention at all. I partly agree with the idea, that it is true that groundbreaking some pieces are not getting the compliments that they deserve, but I do not believe that it is possible to put objective qualities to decide if an art piece is unique or not.

Every century brings changes in cultures. It affects people's judgment of art. The criteria of the beauty of an art piece are directly related to the world's cultural atmosphere and popular trends of the time. It is also essential to remember the function of art as a reflect emotion of the artist or state of mind of a particular time period. In the past, it was easier to understand what an art piece was actually about and what emotion it was demonstrating. For example, no one had any doubt about what Guernica was about, which made it easier to consider the painting as a masterpiece.

Over time, the world got complicated, and so did art. More recent artists are now using more various techniques to explain how they perceive the world and what the effect of the world is on them. Now, they think more creatively regarding the past, and this brand new way of thinking makes their art hard to be understood. Furthermore, the way of creating art and the materials that they use are not conservative anymore. They use lights, machines, even a whole building, and because of this when they get attention and prize, they are heavily criticized and blamed for not being an actual artist. In addition, since new technology allows them to create and share more independently it has made an explosion in the number of artists. It is more helpful to discover more artists but at the same time, it makes it harder to catch the most talented ones.

In conclusion, even though there are many opponents of the idea that the current popular art pieces are not art at all, and they hide the real ones, I believe it is not the people's comment to determine the value of an art piece. What makes an art piece an actual "masterpiece" is determined by time and culture. It is true that many beautiful creations are lost before they were discovered, but it is not the other artists who should be blamed for.