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What is Art and Culture? What is the difference between the two?
What is Art and Culture? What is the difference between the two?
When we think of ‘Art and Culture’, what comes to mind is everything
that the UPSC asks questions on – be it Persian literature, the
Bhakti-Sufi tradition or Gandhara art, etc. You possibly have a vague
idea about these two terms, so before we proceed to their definitions,
what’s the difference between the two?
Try the following exercise – classify each of the following into one
of two groups, ‘Art’ or ‘Culture’:
- Chola bronze sculpture
- Singing hymns in praise of different Gods
- Filial piety (respecting your elders)
- Bharatnatyam
- Thang Ta
- Sujni
- The language Maithili
- Buddhism and Jainism
- Nowruz/Navroz
- Idli, dosa and aloo parantha
Bharatnatyam and Thang Ta are performing arts. They thus would be
classified as an Art form. However, by being a part of these
performances as performer or audience, having a feeling of “this is
a part of me, my identity” would mean that this art form is intrinsic
to one’s culture.
Similarly, while cooking the perfect idli/dosa/aloo parantha may be an
art in itself, the process of indulging in a plate of idli/dosa and/or
aloo parantha especially when abroad (you wouldn’t care less when you
have it at home or at a hotel in India) would make the majority of you
feel very much like you belong to what one would refer to as “Indian
culture”.
Languages, religions, filial piety and singing hymns are all part of
culture, not art.
Culture is a way of life. Art is a manifestation of culture, of
creative urges of people belonging to a certain culture. Customs and
traditions too are nothing but a manifestation of culture.
The Oxford Dictionary defines ‘Culture’ as “the arts and other
manifestations of human intellectual achievement regarded
collectively”, and as “the ideas, customs, and social behaviour of a
particular people or society.”
The same dictionary defines ‘Art’ as “the expression or application of
human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such
as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily
for their beauty or emotional power”, and as “the various branches of
creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance.”
— Team Selection Mania