Touching your emotions

From time to time (and often seemingly for no reason) I return to wondering about the old chestnut - 'what is art?'  Everyone, quite rightly, has their own views on this topic and I suspect that I like it that way.  In other words, if there was only one 'accepted answer' then I think the world of art would be a poorer place.  After all, the whole history of art is underpinned by generations of artists continually seeking to redefine what people consider to be art. And I do not think that any of us would want that to stop.

For me, the one thing that singles out a good piece of art (whether that be paintings, sculpture, music, poetry, architecture or whatever) is whether it touches my emotions in some way.  It could be a good feeling or a disturbing feeling...just any kind of feeling.  Note that this is not the same thing as 'liking' the things that you see, read or hear.  There are plenty of things that I consider to be good art that, unfortunately, I do not like one bit.  But they still do something to me that gets a reaction.

Of course there are things that I see in galleries that produce no emotional reaction at all...at least in me.  That does not mean that those things are not art.  They are simply not art for me. And I know that as the years pass by my own reactions to things changes, so maybe the things that do not touch my emotions now, will do in the future.