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Art & Exhibitions (118256)

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By its original and broadest definition, art (from the Latin ars, meaning "skill" or "craft") is the product or process of the effective application of a body of knowledge and a set of skills; this meaning is preserved in such phrases as "liberal arts" and "martial arts". However, in the modern use of the word, which rose to prominence during the Renaissance, art is commonly understood to be the process or result of making material works (or artwork) which, from concept to creation, adhere to the "creative impulse"—that is, art is distinguished from other works by being in large part unprompted by necessity, by biological drive, or by any undisciplined pursuit of recreation. By both definitions of the word, artistic works have existed for almost as long as humankind, from early pre-historic art to contemporary art.

The creative arts are a collection of disciplines whose principal purpose is in the output of material that is compelled by a personal drive and echoes or reflects a message, mood, and symbolism for the viewer to interpret. As such, the term art may be taken to include forms as diverse as prose writing, poetry, dance, acting, music, sculpture and painting. In addition to serving as a method of pure creativity and self-expression, the purpose of works of art may be to communicate ideas, such as in politically-, religiously-, and philosophically-motivated art, to create a sense of beauty (see aesthetics and fine art) or pleasure, or to generate strong emotions; the purpose may also be seemingly nonexistent.

As a form of cultural expression, art may be defined by the pursuit of diversity and the usage of narratives of liberation and exploration (i.e. art history, art criticism, and art theory) to mediate its boundaries. This distinction may be applied to objects or performances, current or historical, and its prestige extends to those who made, found, exhibit, or own them. Other than originality, there are no widely agreed-upon criteria for what is or isn't considered "art", and there are many divergent definitions of art to seek more specific requirements.

Etymology

The word art derives from the Latin ars, which roughly translates to "skill" or "craft", and derives in turn from an Indo-European root meaning "arrangement" or "to arrange". This is the only near-universal definition of art: that whatever is described as such has undergone a deliberate process of arrangement by an agent. A few examples where this meaning proves very broad include artifact, artificial, artifice, artillery, medical arts, and military arts. However, there are many other colloquial uses of the word, all with some relation to its etymological roots.