I personally believe debates and opinions in society run on three different levels of fact and opinion. Most arts fit into the soft catagory which is what makes art a good media platform for social debate and interpretation.
Hard = Pure scientific facts. Water boils at one hundred degrees celcius. This is a proven scientific fact that doesn't not change. You can't have any other opinion to it as it is already a solid known fact.
Medium = Widely known but could potentially be disputed. Heavily regarded through social agreement.
Soft = Open to interpretation/change and social debate.
"Science Fiction is what we point to when we say it." - Damon Knight on the difficulty of defining the genre.
Medium = Widely known but could potentially be disputed. Heavily regarded through social agreement.
Soft = Open to interpretation/change and social debate.
"Science Fiction is what we point to when we say it." - Damon Knight on the difficulty of defining the genre.
People who do not read Sci-fi may refer to a Sci-fi work in such a manner as: "Sci-fi? You mean like Star Trek?" They are not wrong in saying this however the Sci-fi Genre scales massively in variety and style and often there is debate of what covers the grounds of what is and isn't a sci-fi movie. The movie 1984 has advancing technologies based on the year it was made but it isn't considered hard Sci-fi in the same way Star Trek may. The genre advances as science itself advanced which is what makes the genre so unique. Often bringing up present political questions and morals with futuristic technology or predictions.
A person can talk about a sci-fi novel without confusion because there is no need to know what makes the novel specifically science fiction. All you need to know is that it IS science fiction because it is already common ground that sci-fi is "like Star Trek".
Not everything in a culture has a strict definition, however we have points of reference. It is only through cultural representation and agreement through experience and knowledge that we can talk about subjects without needing them to be defined beyond 'sci-fi'.
Modern art is a parallel to this logic. If something seems to not 'fit' within a genre of space it begins to cause questioning and debate. Is performance art, art? Are video games art? This is because until these points peoples gut feelings were previously on common ground dictates different feelings on the subject matter.
It is only through learning to understand subjects better we can categories things into a 'proper' place. A good example of this would be the planet Pluto. As we learnt more about the solar system we found that Pluto being a planet didn't make as much sense so through cultural agreement we chanced what we thought about it and it became a dwarf. Plutos physical values and structure did not alter in any way before or after the change of it being a 'planet' or a 'dwarf'. The only thing that did change is our opinion on it as society.
Modern art is a parallel to this logic. If something seems to not 'fit' within a genre of space it begins to cause questioning and debate. Is performance art, art? Are video games art? This is because until these points peoples gut feelings were previously on common ground dictates different feelings on the subject matter.
It is only through learning to understand subjects better we can categories things into a 'proper' place. A good example of this would be the planet Pluto. As we learnt more about the solar system we found that Pluto being a planet didn't make as much sense so through cultural agreement we chanced what we thought about it and it became a dwarf. Plutos physical values and structure did not alter in any way before or after the change of it being a 'planet' or a 'dwarf'. The only thing that did change is our opinion on it as society.
Art is a little less solid in definition to a planet (which has scientific values) due to being a cultural topic with cultural meanings. Art was a craft made by humans with no solid boundaries as arts definition is made by society and so is art itself. This is why the definition of art changes over time along with the art itself altering. Socially, people think about art differently through time which caused different art movements and the evolution of art and art forms. read:does art relect society? for a short insight into previous artwork relating to this.
The only acception to this rule would be classic distinguishable pieces of art that have stood the test of time like picasso, mozart as even if someone may not agree with them being art or dislike it. The test of time and cultural agreement allows the subject matter to be a timeless example of 'true' art.
The only acception to this rule would be classic distinguishable pieces of art that have stood the test of time like picasso, mozart as even if someone may not agree with them being art or dislike it. The test of time and cultural agreement allows the subject matter to be a timeless example of 'true' art.
Paul Lehr - Sabotage
