What is art? What classifies something as art? This is a tough question to answer because there is no answer. At least not a definitive answer. Personally, I believe that art is a process of grabbing our ideas, thoughts, and beliefs and bringing them into reality. Looking into the past, one might have received an answer to this question along the lines of mastery or skill in a craft. Art has evolved from this point, especially here in New York City, where our culture has been heavily influenced by art. Take 5Pointz as an example. Graffiti has always been a controversial topic in the subject of art; however, regardless of which side you take, 5Pointz served as a massive canvas for thousands of artists to paint the 200,000-foot factory with a wide range of different styles and forms. This united a large portion of the community, as evident when 5Pointz was destroyed, being painted in all white in late 2013. This started many protests to protect 5Pointz because of the unity and symbolism of the location. That is the beauty of modern art. Long gone is the era in which art had to meet a standard of quality. Art has moved from just visual displays, rather opening up for a great appreciation of the process and intentions of an artwork. An era where art could be interpreted in any way, even if it was different from the artist’s original perspective.

The meta-short film attempts to encompass this idea of modern art by grounding it in the following young artist, Emilio, in New York City. Emilio comes from an immigrant household chasing the American dream. A dream that idolizes careers such as engineering, doctors, lawyers, and so on, often discourages creativity and careers in the arts. Through the video, we gain an understanding that art is more than “meets the eye.” Art can be made by whoever, wherever, and for whatever reasons. The line “Every art piece has a meaning” refers to the deeper sense that behind every artwork we see, someone came up with an idea, someone gathered materials, someone struggled, and someone overcame certain challenges. There is so much that goes on behind the curtains in the process of making an art piece, and this film takes the time to acknowledge that.

Work Cited:
“5 POINTZ NYC – Google Arts and Culture.” Google Arts & Culture, artsandculture.google.com/story/DQVxhU5h1AQA8A. DeGuzman, Kyle.

“What is Modern Art — Definition, History and Examples.” StudioBinder, 27 Sept. 2024, www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-modern-art-definition. Sawyer, Miranda.

“The Jean-Michel Basquiat I knew….” The Guardian, 19 Oct. 2022, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2017/sep/03/jean-michel-basquiat-retrospective-barbican. Webmaster.

“About The Artist.” The Estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat, 13 Apr. 2021, basquiat.com/about.