Underappreciated Art Forms
food…though it is not considered an art in my opinion….i suppose “presentation”
experimental music
poetry
basket weaving
seed art
boiler-maker contests
Why can’t food be considered art, other than presentation?
Why can’t food be considered art, other than presentation?
Early comic strips.
Ah, ’tis beautiful.
Photography and writing – hey, those correspond to makin’ movies!
(Good)Food is Art.
I’ve been practicing ikebana for many many years. I learned it doing mission work in Kanoya. It’s a marvelous way to unwind and of course adds much beauty. I recently had surgery and made fifty seven arrangements. Unfortunately, my male nurse Fran (a replacement for Timothy, who, you no doubt recall, was let go for various infractions that I’d really rather NOT get into ) turned out to be allergic to Japanese andromeda and had to be rushed to the hospital…apparently his throat closed up. He’s fine now, but I was quite traumatized and took two additional painkillers that night. -- 私のフィートは痛む
The definition of art is drawn into questions here. oh my, that sound’s cute. I am too lazy to hunt for John Cage quotes. He is fantastic to listen to….though I am not ready for his music.
Robert Hughes The Shock of The New is a rather nice series from the early 80’s. Simon Schama’s The Power of Art is also VERY VERY VERY GOOD.
Food – certainly. Great, creative cooking is an art. Ever eaten coconut & basil sorbet?
Gardening. Some people got the knack.
Architecture. There’s a world of bad, expensive design out there. Great architecture – old or new – is a beautiful thing. I’m amazed that seemingly no one (that I’ve heard of, at least) seems interested in exploring design that is innovative without being uber-expensive. I would think that a combination of creative innovation, affordability and proper marketing could – in the right hands – be revolutionary.
Poverty. Try being poor, not being destroyed by it, having a genuinely great life (of some highly individualized variety) while aware of just how many _no_’s you’ll be experiencing through life. Do this. If you have any self-esteem left at all after a few years, you are obviously a maestro at conducting and orchestrating thousands of semi-visible little variables. There’s an art to it, absolutely not recognized as such, but still…
The website.
As an experimental musician, I would (propelled by my bias) say that is an underappreciated art form. I can easily tell a difference of appreciation/interest when I release an experimental project (whether through album or in a live performance) to an audience and when I release more conventional music (though there’s always a blend of experimental theoretical/recording techniques, but the style/presentation of the music is much more accessible).
Also I’m working with an artist who’s designing an album cover (and as set designer for a secret film project that I don’t want to give too many details about yet) who works with life-size mannequins and various lighting/smoke techniques. He sets up these staged distortions of real life that resemble (to me at least) photographs of a dream. I’d say that’s an underappreciated art form, but I don’t know where to classify it.
And Tom, John Cage has some wonderful music out there, but it’s best if you wait until you’re ready as you mentioned. However, there’s other great experimental music that is actually accessible such as Wendy Carlos (who composed soundtracks for several Kubrick films, so you may already be familiar with her), Legeti (who also composed music for Kubrick), Robert Ashley (who is revolutionary in his operatic works), Terry Riley (maybe start with the composition, “In C”), Pauline Oliveros, and then when you’re ready, Alvin Lucier with his environmental experiments …
I would agree with architecture (though it does get quiet a bit of recognition, so it’s not really underappreciated), gardening (on a more advanced level, not just simply someone having a garden with a couple tomato plants).
I’ll give you food preparation to a certain extent, but it’s more of a superficial thing that doesn’t really reflect any life issue or deeper meaning. It’s not symbolic or straight-forward, it is merely picturesque.
Poverty to a certain extent, but I wouldn’t blanket sweep that either as saying all impovershed (sp?) people are artists – they’re not all Charles Bukowski …
This thread just seems irrelevant without the clarification of what each person views art to be.
I actually mentioned what I viewed it to be in my post, but to clarify …
(In my view), art reflects life’s aspects/conflicts (relationships, prejudice, religion, culture, man’s nature, war, death, or merely existentialism, whatever, can’t list them all), the humanity/inhumanity of humanity (heh). And as a rejoinder to that, I’d say it has be done showing some skilled workmanship, some unique presentation/execution.
It’s actually irrelevant for each person to give an explanation of what they view art to be. It can really only be one of two things (or both), something that is pleasing ot the eye or something that is pleasing to the mind – albeit we all have variations and deeper definitions, but they all pretty much fall into one of those categories.
Comic strips, hear, hear! Krazy Kat and Little Nemo in Slumberland, for two, are beautiful, which is why the prevalence of such trite strips as Marmaduke and Garfield in the public’s consciousness makes me sad. Most people won’t realize that so many wonderful strips exist.
Also, animation has gained more recognition recently, but until it’s held in the same regard as live-action filmmaking it hasn’t received enough.
stop motion animation is almost a lost art form. you don’t see it alot today. exept in stuff like wallace and fuking grammit and shit.
It should be shocking that Christianity has not respected woodwork more, given that the Son of God spent most of his adult life at it. Why don’t Christians all take up carpentry (while planting trees new trees) and give all they have to the poor and learn David D-D’s art of poverty?
Jean Renoir, former potter, believed pottery was the closest artform to cinema, while Mizoguchi loved ceramics, and Lady Wakasa fell for Genjuro’s wares. So ceramics have the blessing of 2 of the very greatest directors, perhaps we should take a closer look.
Now for 3 underrated biggies, all valuing the individual and the collective, unity with variety. Architecture. Cinema. Hollywood may be more interested in big bucks but we know its supreme possibilities. Both these combine science and art, and many talents. Football. The working class and universal, intense, passionate and beautiful exploration of space and timing, elation and despair. Are not Ferguson and Mourinho auteurs? There is George Best chipping over Jennings and the Spurs defence. There is Henrik Larsson with a diving header, such wondrous timing. There is Pele applying beautiful mathematical curves, the ball one side of the goalie, he the other… and so on.
Combine cinema and dance and you get Fred Astaire. Oh and poetry is sady eclipsed by novels. Can’t haiku be encouraged by schools?
Old pond
Frog jumps in
Sound of Water
Wood carving was a serious force in northern European Renaissance art.
Why don’t Christians take up carpentry and planting trees? I think the last time that was done in America was by FDR during the New Deal. CCC and the “arts and crafts” architecture they built. The lodges in Americas national parks built during this period are truly beautiful structures.
Your question remains a good one.
2Kenji: I think that’s very true of woodwork being under-appreciated in the West compared to cultures like Japan where there is a tradition of reverence for Nature in Shintoism which has an influence on the culture as the national indigenous religion. It’s not that high quality woodwork doesn’t exist in the West since there are beautifully carved furniture and various furniture made from burrel wood and other woods noted for their beautiful grain but the wood itself doesn’t seem to be as appreciated for its natural beauty as in Japan by the average person. Perhaps Shakers who build simple functional handmade wooden furniture exhibit a similar attitude towards wood but the appreciation for simplicity and Nature seems to attain a high level of sophistication in Japan, more so than in the West. Of course, this may be just an impression of mine. Perhaps I haven’t paid as much attention to various objects made of wood (pipes, canes, rulers, cutting boards, bed posts, etc. etc.) but I think a part of the problem is that less and less things are handmade or simply made in wood. As far as pottery goes, I can think of one example where it is under-appreciated. Pablo Picasso created many ceramic pieces that are probably not as well known as his paintings.
tauromachy
Gamelan music
barong
Khmer bas-reliefs
robam
fado
sevillanas
flamenco
mariachi
khon
ram Thai
azulejos
Manueline
Natya
Gregorian chanting
mime
cante jondo
batik
Bharatanatyam
Akira: Oh yes, Fado! Amalia Rodrigues caresses like silk, bathes like moonlight and pierces like lightning. Ah yes, i see, feel and hear it now. It’s a beautiful warm starlit evening at Caminha, an atmosphere of dark sultry sensuality, a balcony overlooking the sea, a cool breeze and Amalia comes wafted into the bedroom.
“It should be shocking that Christianity has not respected woodwork more”
Christians are too busy constructing their own crosses to bear in more abstract ways, Kenji.
-and-
Feng Shui
Akira: I’m with you on gamelan, Khmer bas reliefs, and mariachi.
I’d throw Tex-Mex and zydeco music into the mix too. I might be alone on those, but I’ve also got stacks of Doug Sahm records that will make a believer out of just about anyone.
David, no you’re not alone. I love Tex-Mex and zydeco/cajun. Also ranchera.
Makes me feel like listening to some Flaco Jiménez .
Moderated
Music, from 1900 on (ties right in with also being a Hi-Fi nut.) I will listen to absolutely anything at least once.
Playing/recording my own compositions/songs at home.
Cooking (no expert, but done with heart.)
Good novels and biographies; history.
Video shooting and editing/Photography
Writing.
Archeology and Astronomy (reading about, not doing.)
Jake Howell
We here at The Auteurs hold film in the highest esteem, yet we can be open-minded and appreciative of almost all forms of art, be it poetry, music, painting, etc. What other arts do you enjoy/appreciate? I’ll start.
Stand-Up Comedy
Food/Cooking
Experimental/Avant-Garde Music