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Question of the Month

What Makes A Work Of Art Great?

Each answer below receives a book. Apologies to all the entrants not included.

Great art must score highly on four measures: emotional impact (visual and visceral); technique (masterful and harmonious); concept (relevant or timeless); and originality (of medium, subject, or treatment). There are many ways each of these criteria can be satisfied, both subjectively and objectively, but the media are open-ended. One can build great architecture; paint on canvas or a wall; sculpt wood, rock, or beach; project an image on a building or the Moon; make an installation; stage a happening… The media extend to literature, music, stage, and film. Even engineering is not entirely bound to functionality. A ship, aircraft, or bridge can satisfy all the ‘great art’ criteria, even if stirring emotion was no part of the designer’s intention.

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