All The Different Art Forms You Need To Know About

T here are so many different art forms out there that people who think they may not be a fan of art, are actually consuming it on a daily basis. Whether it’s a song, a movie, or the most conventional form of art: paintings, art has been the center of human communication since the dawn of civilization. It should probably come as no surprise that studies show art is linked with emotional and psychological wellbeing. However, we don't need a study to prove this to us. We already know it because we experience it every single day of our lives. There is something about this ultimate expression of human emotion that we cannot live without. Today we are going to try to do the impossible, which is to fit the infinitely different art forms into some mainstream categories.

What Is Art? 

It is rather difficult to define what exactly art is. Defining art has been a heated issue for thousands of years, and countless opinions on its definition exist. Ultimately, a broad definition would be that art expresses human emotions, creativity, and imagination. Art is usually appreciated for the emotional weight it carries or its aesthetic beauty. With that, we move on to the various ways art is expressed commonly. 

Painting 

Is it really possible to talk about different forms of art without discussing paintings? What started with stick figure cave paintings and has since seen several lifetimes of evolution, has earned its position as the face of art. There is something about paintings that makes most people enter a reflective and contemplative state. Many of these masterpieces find their abodes in museums, homes, or art galleries. Some widely recognized artists are Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Leonardo Da Vinci. Interestingly enough, these painters appear after the Renaissance, which has been credited as the golden age of paintings (at least in Eurocentric history). Paintings can also include illustrations and graphic design as subcategories of the same type of art form. These are becoming more common and gaining recognition as technology is advancing.

Sculpture 

Sculptures involve the 3-dimensional creation of something. Artists make their creations by molding and styling existing material materials such as clay, stone, ceramics, or metals. Just like painting, this is one of the more ancient forms of art that dates back to humans living in caves. We know that some of the older artists of this skill, such as Michelangelo and Myon, favored materials such as marble and bronze, using techniques such as casting and carving. Now in the modern era with more knowledge of science and craft at our disposal, artists prefer using materials such as metals, plastics, and glass for their sculpturing.  The molding and carving techniques used have also evolved over time to more efficient methods. But many have also stayed the same because our ancestors perfected them a long time ago. 

Literature 

This is a form of art that people tend to dismiss from the field of art. Nonetheless, it requires incredible creativity to paint pictures and birth experiences with words. There are many forms of literature which range from poetry, autobiographies, essays, plays, fiction, and nonfiction. This form of art can also be used to critique society, and many widely recognized pieces of writing do so. Examples of this include the works of Charles Dickens, George Orwell, and Charlotte Bronte. While Literature is a form of art on its own, it also is one of the few art forms that inspire adaptations in other art forms such as plays, movies, paintings, and so on. 

Cinema 

This is one of the latest forms of art on our list. Created over a century ago, this style of art has risen to be the most consumed form of art out there. Humankind has progressed so far that we now are able to show a three-dimensional image on a two-dimensional screen. Movies primarily express their art in the form of stories. Some of the most prominent filmmakers of this era are Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, and many, many more. 

Conclusion 

It is obviously impossible to encompass all forms of art in a small article such as this. Our purpose was to merely define the most common forms of arts. Of the ones we mentioned, which one is your favorite?