I’m obviously cool with art—music, paintings, books, and so on—being a defining feature of the human experience. It’s the terminology that ties my brain into knots. So rather than go with the accepted definitions of these art terms—which I’ve looked up hundreds of times and still don’t understand—I’m making up my own, even if they change the intended meaning.
Avant-Garde
Wikipedia definition: a genre of art, an experimental work of art, and the experimental artist who created the work of art, which usually is aesthetically innovative while initially being ideologically unacceptable to the artistic establishment of the time
My definition: stuff made by people who ignore art teachers
Modern
Wikipedia definition: a description for artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s and portraying the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era
My definition: newish
Postmodern
Wikipedia definition: a label for art that sought to contradict some aspects of modernism or some aspects that emerged or developed in its aftermath
My definition: not even made yet
Contemporary
Wikipedia definition: a term for the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century
My definition: see modern
Expressionism
Wikipedia definition: a modernist movement originating in Northern Europe around the beginning of the 20th century that presented the world solely from a subjective perspective
My definition: making art
Art Rock
Wikipedia definition: A subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements
My definition: rock music made by geeky people
New Age
Wikipedia definition: a genre of music intended to create artistic inspiration, relaxation, and optimism, used by listeners for yoga, massage, meditation, and reading as a method of stress management
My definition: music for depressive people
World Music
Wikipedia definition: an English phrase for styles of music from non-Western countries, including quasi-traditional, intercultural, and traditional music
My definition: music
Neo-Psychedelia
Wikipedia definition: a diverse genre of psychedelic music that draws inspiration from the sounds of 1960s psychedelia, either updating or copying approaches from that era
My definition: new music for drug abusers
Emo
Wikipedia definition: a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics that emerged as a style of hardcore punk and post-hardcore
My definition: a typo for Elmo
Any questions on these art terms?
2 Responses
Not really.
I award you the title ” ART Definer”
Hahaha. I’ll take it!