There are so many ways to approach answering the question of “what is art” that it can paralyze you in freedom.
I think the reality is we don’t have a unified answer. We know it when we see it. We know what is trying to be art, what looks like it was intended to be art. But defining it seems impossible. This is a fortunate thing.
Some claim art is the stuff we make that can exist for no purpose other than its own existence. Others believe art is work that is made to be shown in a gallery or museum—this differentiates it from work that may use all the same mediums and methods but intends to be shown in the NYT to get readers to notice and article.
My tinnitus is so fucking loud right now I can’t even continue thinking about this.