Artworks are objects or experiences that can be considered beautiful, provocative or meaningful. They are usually considered to be created by artists and studied by people who specialize in the field of art history or criticism. The nature of artworks is explored in a philosophical branch called aesthetics.
The earliest definitions of what makes something an artwork were based on the notion that it has to have certain qualities that make it unique from other objects or experiences. The idea was that these specific properties can be compared and contrasted to other works of art or even to other objects in general to establish what sets it apart.
Typically, these properties were related to the visual: for example, an artwork might be described as having expressive or formal properties. This reflects the view that artistic expression is primarily visual and that all art has some of these visual qualities.
More recent art theories have changed the way we look at artworks. For instance, the 20th century saw the rise of pop art and street art, which reshaped the art world’s concept of what an artwork is and what it can do.
In general, this is a good thing because it opens the door to many more types of creative work that could be considered an artwork. It also means that the definition of what is considered to be an artwork is always changing, which can be difficult for people who create art or who are involved in the production of artworks.
For example, one theory defines an artwork as “any arrangement of conditions that is intentionally intended to afford an experience with marked aesthetic character” (Beardsley). Another theory posits that there are five arts: painting, sculpture, architecture, literature and music. (Kristeller 1951)
In an attempt to move away from the idea that there are only a few art forms, some philosophers have rejected the traditional definition of what is an artwork. These are known as conventionalist definitions, and they deny that artworks have any essential properties such as having representational or expressive or formal characteristics. Instead, they hold that what makes something an artwork is a complex network of relationships between the object, the viewer and the cultural context in which the work was produced. These relationships are called a work’s context of reception, and they are what distinguishes an artwork from other objects. Conventionalists also argue that, in order to be considered an artwork, an object must have a certain historical connection to other established artworks. This is a form of historical conventionalism, and it has two corollaries: first, that borderline cases are characteristic of classes, and second, that any object that is not an artwork must be identified as such in an internal art-historical narrative. These narratives can be synchronic or diachronic. It is a more flexible approach to the definition of an artwork than the classical cluster theory, but it is still not very well-developed.