Almost-Art
Almost-art is not art, and neither is it non-art. Almost-art is that which is not quite either but in between the two, for one of several reasons. Examples of almost-art include a chair, a fishing pier, an infant's crayon drawing, or just a few brushstrokes or paint molecules in the Mona Lisa. To define almost-art is to define the "gray areas" around and in art.
Types/Categories
1. subpart: The object being considered is only part of an art-object, and not enough to be considered art by itself. (A few paint molecules in the nose of the Mona Lisa.)
2. unfinished: The object being considered as an art-object is unfinished (or perhaps, partially destroyed). (The Mona Lisa after Leonardo just started to paint it; the Burj Al Arab hotel when it was less than half built.)
3. primitive: The object being considered is too juvenile/primitive/crude, even though there was obviously some attempt at symbolism, estheticism, symmetry, proportion, composition, harmony, etc. (Some cave paintings; most paintings by toddlers; all of Henry Moore's work.)
4. natural: The object being considered is more a phenomenon of Nature than an artifice of man. (Our world; a sunset; a fruit tree with the sun shining though it just so after a rain; a mountain area lake in situ.)
5. perspective: The zeitgeist (or an ideology, or a society) considers the object to be almost-art rather than art or non-art (even though earlier the object may have been considered art or non-art). (The crazy-straw; digital watches; a lunch box with a picture of John Wayne or Darth Vader on the side.)
6. functional: The functional or useful aspects of the object so overwhelm the perception and consideration of the object as an art-object that it is not commonly deemed to be at the level of art. (A two-year-old washing machine or microwave oven; a trite lecture; a porn film; a downhill slalom ski run; a coin in circulation.)
7. attempt: There was no attempt on the part of the artificer to make the object something to be admired as art, and it shows; but still the observer might admire some aspect of what he sees (maybe even inadvertently, temporarily, or unwittingly). (A crutch; a water well; a hiking path; a sentence in everyday conversation.)
8. significance: The import/significance of the art-object as an art-object is negligible. The art-object is low in artistic value (simple, or with little formal value). (Tinsel on a Christmas tree, or other decoration without pretense to art; a well made martini; a wedding cake.)
(These categories are excerpted from: Almost-Art.org, the Reasons page.)
Links
For many examples of almost-art see the following site: www.Almost-Art.org. There are several exhibits there. There are also many more links there.
| Almost-Art | Comment |
| www.almost-art.org | The Almost-Art site |
Here is an Exhibit from that site showing the Favorite Artists Rakes collection: an almost-art depiction representing in turn: H. Melville, J. Pollack, D. Beatles, L. V. Beethoven, S. Dali, and V. V. Gogh:
More
Almost everyone has created almost-art at some time in their lives. Also, if you are like most people, you create almost-art for a living (as part of your job).
If it is "good enough for government work" (just needs to meet present needs), then it is probably not for exhibit (gallery art). If a product is for sale commercially, then it's functional requirements probably preclude the design being too artistic.
If you are not proud of it, then it is probably not art; but if you put a lot of work into it then you would probably consider it to be more "artful" than non-art.
For more, see the site mentioned above.
