What is Art?

Ah, the age old question. Is art only something aesthetically pleasing? Or can it be something repulsive, offensive, downright rude? As my younger, less mature brother once put it, "Poop is a more masterful piece of art than DaVinci could make." So if a 14-year-old states that fecal matter is, in fact, art then who is to tell him he's wrong? Philosophically speaking, there is no correct answer to this question. Of course, there is always the Dictionary, which states "the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance." However, this narrow view excludes things such as a child's art class project. It may not be particularly pretty, appealing or of any significance, yet it is still considered art. A more satisfying definition is found on Urban Dictionary, "Any attempt to define art is an attempt to destroy it. No laws can define it. No medium can contain it. No old idea or imitation survives. Art creates its own laws, ones of revolution and change. Art bears witness time and time again to the rebirth of itself. Art translates the language of human experience because ART IS." Although there are multiple definitions that describe art, there is no real answer to this question. Beauty, as well as art, is in the eye of the beholder.