Philosophy Does life imitate art, or does art imitate life?

I don't usually get into philosophical debates on here, but I've always thought deeply about this one. I'm not sure myself... you would think because an artist sits down and creates a picture/painting from something he sees in the natural world, then art would be imitating life- they take what they see, experience, or feel in life and depict it in their art. However, I won't have a proper argument until someone brings something up.

 

I know what you are refering.

Your question should be, 'Is art a culturally determined piece of work, or is it a culturally influenced piece of work?

 

This is a good one. I think art is your life drawn in colors and imagination.
You create something with your heart and it reflects your life..If its dark you've been hurt very badly or if it is filled wiith light and color it symbolizes the joy you have.

 

I believe that people put art into what they see in life. And in terms of perception, each person has different ones. So I think it wouldnt be right if it said that life imitated art because dont we all live? So therefore art would all be the same...but its not. I think if i go any further i might end up confusing myself...

 

When people say life imitates art its an ironic comment . And art here doesnt just mean paintings and sculpture, but everything we create, including TV, movies, anime, novels, etc.

Obviously art started out imitating life or at least representing it. A painting, sculpture, play, book, movie, manga, even music gets its inspiration from life, what is in the real world, what people do - whatever you want to call "life". Of course that's often just the starting point and for example, a lot of art is about asking the question "what if?" Its also about letting other people see the world in a different way, sometimes in such a different way that its not recognisable at all. Sometimes its just about feelings or ideas, as in abstract art, but life and real experiences are still the starting point. No artist lives in a vacuum.

So what about life imitating art? Well sometimes we notice things in life that seem to have been expressed in art before they existed in real life. Well this is not surprising as far as people go because we spend a lot of time enjoying, talking and thinking about art, and its no surprise if we start imitating it, for example in how we speak, what we wear how we behave. Do you ever feel you are starting to act like an anime character? ^_-

Finally, sometimes a real event seems to be copying something from a well known story or ... how about a comedy sketch? ANy Monty Python fans? This is a true news item:

"An indignant Israeli is suing a pet shop that he says sold him a dying parrot, reports the Ma'ariv newspaper. Itzik Simowitz of the southern city of Beersheba contends the shop cheated him because the Galerita-type cockatoo not only failed to utter a word when he got it home, but was also extremely ill. Mr. Simowitz adds that the shop owner assured him the parrot was not ill but merely needed time to adjust to its new environment."

If you know the Parrot Sketch very well you will notice how similar that news item is to it.

 

You would need to know which hold dominance in our lives....Art, or life itself. Some say art, others life...


Lucky

 

I agree with you and Rokue. Many people view the world through an artistic view. And aren't humans so expressive in the ways of beauty, grace, anger, and general emotion? Perhaps they get this from art. A good example is fashion; that starts out artistically...