Categories of Art (2) – Defining words

Here is an exercise I am doing this morning in an art course that I have picked. Instructor‘s guidelines:

Write one sentence in English that uses the following words. Use the words in a way that feels familiar. The sentence should incorporate what you see as the meaning of art, class, culture …. ONLY ONE SENTENCE PLEASE.

Art | Class | Culture | Folk | Literature | Modern | Native | Primitive | Popular | Taste | Tradition | Vernacular

Here goes my response. These are spontaneous thoughts on what I imagine of the words given –

Art – Art is how I relate to the diversity and variety of human imagination in everyday life.

Class – A categorization of processes for convenience, which is subjective and at times arbitrary.

Culture – That abstract, relative and subjective idea about their own life styles and traditions that individuals tend to believe and identify themselves with.

Folk – An identifier of common forms of art that may or may not have a formal body of work but lives and propagates through daily lives of people.

Literature – A written form of engagement with imagination and creativity.

Modern – An expression of self and the manner of relating to contemporary processes which construct a sense of identity in individuals.

Native – A label ascribing origin or exclusivity of sorts to form of art or process.

Primitive – A word referring to period or chronological origin of an object, form, process
etc.

Popular – Forms of behaviour, art and style which appears to be widely adopted in a particular period of time.

Taste – An exclusive consumption preference or identification of oneself with a particular idea of art form.

Tradition – A form or practice which has continued over generations and have come to be a defining or identifying element for a community.

Vernacular – A contemporary or ‘as practiced’ form of a language or art form.

This is an interesting exercise because I wouldn’t have otherwise taken an effort to think about these and try defining them. As the course proceeds I think I would be able to refine (or perhaps revise) these ideas.