Artistic

While talking about the plot of Monster Inc 2, I could not refrain from thinking of the problem what are the objective criteria of being artistic - if there is any.

The usual advise is simple: Do a blinded assessment.

Oh, I don't imply we should close one of our eyes - if not both - and do the assessment; I mean we should not ask who the artist is before judging the value of a picture or a statue.

However, this is hardly practical. In real life we are often told of the information in advance and we just cannot remove that bit of memory when we judge a picture. Furthermore, many painters and sculptors have such a strong personality (not necessarily good ones !) that you won't miss unless you are an amateur.

My resolution is simple. Just ask the question: Can my four-year-old daughter make the same thing?

For example, our young professor of hepatology could paint, when he was a kid, as good as Adolph Reinhardt - I must say I could hardly consider either of them impressive. (See http://vwswong.blogspot.com/2009/07/outliers.html)

For the same reason, I find it difficult to accept some statues of animal heads or that photo of five naked persons being artistic.

Well, yes, that has nothing to do with the humanistic character of their maker, I know.