What is Art?
With a changing art scene in post soviet Russia many different artist began trying new forms of art, some of which were accepted, others highly rejected. A separation seemed to be emerging between eastern and western art, along with separate views from each on the art. What one person saw as revolutionary and groundbreaking another saw as trash, disrespectful, and vandalism.
But is this art truly vandalism? Or is it simply someone portraying a view and searching for others reactions. It is “Art for Arts Sake”. It represents something that makes you think outside of the box, what is the artist is trying to say to its viewers? Even though some of this art does not fit what society might classify as art because it is not astatically pleasing, it is still art. For art as defined by Merriam- Webster’s dictionary is something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings. So even if some say something is vandalism or trash that is nearly an opinion, for it conveys an idea through its expression. And that is exactly what Kulik did with his “Dog”, express an idea through his performance.
His “Dog” was seen in the east, where it was first presented, as “skinhead ideology” and rejected by most who saw it. A new category of art emerged classifying the “Dog” and other artistic acts like it as vandalism since it did not fit into any other art classification. Simply because there was a new radical form of art that wasn’t astatically pleasing or could have a value placed on and sold, it was rejected by the art community. It was as if they had lost track of what art actually was, a way to relay a message through ones ideas.
The “Dog” was a way of Kulik trying to reach out to the community, to get them to open their eyes to what was happening in their society. By living as a dog, Kulik represented how much of lower class Russians lived, how they are falling out of civilization and treated as dogs by the upper class ruling society. However, that’s just my perception of his piece. Art is made to make people think, for someone to present an idea through an image to society, to provide a different way of seeing an idea. So even if apiece is seen by some as an act of vandalism, or rejected by critics and those alike, it is still art, it is doing its purpose, and presenting an idea through imagery in order to get a reaction from its viewers.