Regarding serious question 1. : You've accepted a blank piece of videotape as art. I neglected to mention that the camera was not currently operating. One should be more careful in their art appraisals.*

When nothing (literally "no thing") can be considered art, then art becomes nothing. You may like the sound of that, but not I.

Yet, if everything is art, then the literal correlation means art is everything. And anyone who creates something is an artist. Everyone creates something at some point, therefore everyone is an artist. If everyone is an artist, then SoulTaker is an artist. And since art cannot be deemed bad or good in any objective manner, what point is there in his showing results (which he MUST have created since he's an artist) or favorite artist choices in order for you to validate whether his opinion is valid? That's just an attempt to trump his opinion with your own. Would you turn 180 if he proved himself to be skillful? Or if his choices matched your own? Why ought he be attacked for expressing his detractive viewpoint? (Rhetorical questions all.)

Regarding serious question 2. : Bad art is a contradiction in terms. Images can be art. Images can be ugly. Ugly images can be art. But bad art denotes that the artist was incapable of communicating the artists beauteous intent, whether due to lack of skill, or lackluster inspiration, or otherwise. You can have bad composition, bad anatomy, bad perspective, but bad art isn't art. It failed to become art at some point in the execution.

Occassionally, there are stories of prodigies (teenaged or younger) who evidence exceptional ability to produce elaborate images (drawings, paintings, photography, etc) with remarkable sophistication and regularity. Usually there is an awed reaction to the work, due to the prodigy's skill at such an early age. This suggests that skill is an inherent measureable component of artistic ability. And if that is true, then not every image must be art.

I recognize my views may be distasteful. Feel free to contradict me. I just want to explore the subject.

All in all, I think the obvious direct answer to SoulTaker's question is: No. There is not. WYSIWYG.

*SoulTaker has also made an assumption. The page series where images are displayed here at Renderosity is called the "Gallery", not the "Art Gallery" (a wise decision by Renderosity designers, whom i'm sure have their own opinions on the subject).

Message edited on: 02/07/2005 06:23