We begin with a working definition: Art is a selective, intelligible representation of reality, including the human condition, that expresses an artist’s mental conceptual value system in physically perceptual aesthetic form.

The visual arts (painting and sculpture) portray nature, living beings, and objects interpreted through the eyes of an artist, the physical world as the artist sees it. Fiction in all its forms—short stories, novels, poetry, drama, film — portrays life in all its ups and downs with imaginary characters, settings, and situations according to a writer’s wish to dramatize what he or she thinks is worthy or worthless in life.

Music portrays sounds that express and evoke emotions a composer feels about the world and living in it. Even the decorative arts — furniture, fabrics, jewelry, etc. — express the values of their creator in aesthetic forms, e.g. graceful and flowing or awkward and bulky.

Read more at Newsmax© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.