Purpose

In class, we came to the conclusion that what defined an artwork was something intended. What qualified the blank canvas as "art" was that it delivered a certain message, a message strong enough to influence a trend of art.

Today in class I was doodling. My hand was just free flowing, and my mind was blank. I ended up drawing a picture of a toaster with a mustache. I didn't have any clue as to where it came from, and I was only half focused on it during the whole creative process.

My question is this:

When you're subconcious creates (mindless doodling, etc) is this art? The obvious answer would be yes, but think about it. Is doodling really "art" by the definition we concluded? Is it just boredom? And is boredom something that adds intention to our doodles?

Response to Shawna's post about beauty

In your post, you describe art as being "beauty", however, I think we sometimes forget that some art intends to be ugly. Or in the case of the blank canvas, ironic.

Art can be intended to be a whole host of adjectives. The viewer, whether or not they find aesthetic value in it or not, can grasp this without having their own preferences involved. If the art is a picture of a flower (well done or not) the viewer can grasp that the artist meant to capture the beauty of a flower.

Therefore, I feel that aesthetic value (beauty) may lie in the eye of the beholder, but the overall meaning of a painting does not.