Obtaining an ultimate requirement for what makes something art may be impossible. While almost anything can be art, most things are not. Thank goodness for this because if everything was art, the word art would mean nothing. However, that is a different thought altogether. There is at least one quality present in all things accepted as art, simplification. All works of art are by their nature inherent simplifications. The richness and complexity of the world and of human experience is so great that it would be impossible to match in any medium. The act of and degree of simplification is the vehicle of artistic expression. What an artist chooses to include, discard, emphasize, or downplay in an artwork is the essence and the meaning of any given artwork. Often times this simplification is extreme and easy to identify. Other times it is more nuanced. However, even the most illusionistic painting or ornate and complex work is the result of deliberate and specific choices. If a work of art lacks power, it is most likely due to the artist’s lack of clarity as to the choices they have made in simplifying their subject.
