<--- "This is Art"
(
i have a t-shirt that says that)
My opinion:
Art is art regardless of whether it is appreciated or not.
Art is art whether you/I/she or he deems it good or bad.
Art is sometimes art (or becomes art) despite not being created with that intent or for that purpose, despite the fact that most standard dictionaries define it as the product of an intentional act of creation.
Leo Tolstoy wrote an essay in 1896, I agree with many of his points, here is a decent summation snipped
"Leo Tolstoy’s What is Art? (1896) is a treatise concerning the nature and purpose of art, describing how art can express moral values. Tolstoy does not define art in terms of its ability to express form and beauty, but instead defines art in terms of its ability to communicate concepts of morality. For Tolstoy, aesthetic values are defined by moral values.
According to Tolstoy,
art cannot be defined as an activity which produces beauty. Beauty cannot be defined objectively, and therefore cannot be used as a criterion to define what is, or is not, art. The aim of art is not merely to produce beauty, or to provide pleasure, enjoyment, or entertainment. Art is a means of communication, and is an important means of expression of any experience, or of any aspect of the human condition.
Tolstoy defines art as an expression of a feeling or experience in such a way that the audience to whom the art is directed can share that feeling or experience. Art does not belong to any particular class of society. To limit the subject matter of art to the experiences of a particular class of society is to deny that art can be important for all of society. Tolstoy criticizes the belief that art is only relevant to a particular class of society, saying that this is a misconception which can lead to obscurity and decadence in art.
According to Tolstoy, good art is intelligible and comprehensible. Bad art is unintelligible and incomprehensible. The more that art restricts itself to a particular audience, the more obscure and incomprehensible it becomes to people outside that particular audience. Good art is not confusing and incomprehensible to most people. To the contrary, good art can communicate its meaning to most people, because it expresses its meaning in a way which can be understood by everyone."