What is art?

Art is an expression of the artist through a medium that is tangible and has meaning to someone. The artist could think it was a mistake but others could see meaning behind the piece. For example the ceramic squash piece that you talked about in class, to you it was a mistake, but to your teacher it was a masterpiece. But the question of who the artist could be is one that is complicated. Is it just those that know the basic rules of the art form they are creating? I submit that it is not. Children may use lines and circles to draw pictures and they create art but they don’t necessarily know the rules. My nephew drew a scribble when he was about three and told his mom that it was a deer. To my nephew and his mom it is art but I’m sure that not everyone could consider that art. I once saw a dog scratching this canvas that had some sort of covering that, when touched, would leave marks on the canvas. After a while the dog would leave the canvas alone. The covering was taken off and the canvas was then pronounced art. I do not think this is art because it could be the dog trying to get the colorful covering off and then gave up. However, the elephants that have created paintings I would consider art. So what is the difference between dogs and elephants as artist? The first thing that pops into my mind is that I like one and don’t like the other. But that should not mean that one is art and the other is not. Therefore, I suggest that art is not defined by the creator but by the eye of the beholder.