By Jonathon Holden Staten
This year, Valdosta State University had the honor of hosting the 32nd annual “Valdosta National” in the Dedo Maranville Fine Arts Gallery, consisting of fifty artists and fifty-two works from twenty-five states across the U.S. The exhibition showcases the “best” contemporary art from all media. As the viewer enters the installation, art is displayed to the left and right with a choice of where to start. Furthermore, each piece was given a text panel consisting of the title of the artwork, type of medium, the artist’s name, and the location where the artist works. The floating question of the exhibition was “is this actually the best art?” Art is a relative term. Many artists, art historians, and others have defined characteristics or guidelines for something to be art, yet those guidelines have constantly been broken by a new movement of art. Using the artwork’s originality, craftsmanship, the content, and composition, I will evaluate what the artist is intending their art to convey.
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