by Billy Sunshine

Created on: May 16, 2007

In one sense, the word art refers to a finely honed skill. Chefs are culinary artists; Karate experts are martial artists. I can see how a Watermelon Swan could blur the line between form and function; Is it food, Sculpture, or both? I can also see how the graceful moves of Brazilian Capoeira are more like dancing than fighting.

However, when most people hear the word "Art", that is Art with a capital "A", they think of the Creative Arts. This usually means the visual arts, but can also mean music, literature, theater, dance or film. There are many means to creative expression, and many choices.

Visual art includes drawing, painting, printmaking, etching, photography, collage, ceramics, sculpture, installation art and electronic media.

Within painting, one can choose between the mediums of Oil, Acrylic, or Watercolor paints. One can paint Realistic or Abstract pictures and choose between styles such as Impressionism, Expressionism, Surrealism, Op Art, Pop Art, and Cubism, or forge a new style all one's own. One could stay traditional and simply paint landscapes or portraits.

In photography, there is the choice between Black-and-White or Color. You can also create interest by using unconventional cameras or digitally manipulating your images.

Sculpture can be divided into two groups: Additive and Reductive. Additive sculpture involves building up a form from nothing, for example, with clay or lost wax bronze casting, while Reductive sculpture involves taking parts away from a larger form, such as in whittling wood, or carving stone. Sculptors work in every conceivable medium, and frequently in wood, steel, stone, and bronze.

Music is called the universal language, and encompasses everything about harmonious sounds, from solo vocal performances to 1,000 piece orchestras. Some styles of music include Classical, Baroque, Ragtime, Bluegrass, Jazz, Blues, Rock & Roll, Heavy Metal and Hip-Hop.

Literature is poetry, prose, short stories, and novels. Sadly, I think literature is dying at the hands of Television.

Poems come in Sonnets, Odes, and Haikus, as well as many other forms.

Stories and Novels can be either Fiction or Non-fiction. There are genres such as Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Romance.

Sadly, instead of reading books, the hurried people of the 21st century get their stories from Movies. Luckily, the multi-Billion dollar Hollywood film industry serves up many choices, such as Comedy, Drama, Horror, Science Fiction, and Action movies.

Theater is a lot like Film, except the people are performing live and there are no awesome computer-generated special effects.

Dancing, aside from being a great way for College girls to make money, is a very old form of expression. Dance includes Ballet, Interpretive dance Tap Dancing, Square Dancing, and Jazz Dance.

As you can clearly see, there are many ways to express yourself, so go express yourself. What are you waiting for?

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