Art is...
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Art is a thought, a feeling, an idea made manifest. Artistic creations are avatars of those thoughts, feelings, and ideas.
An artist, to me, is one who creates. That creation can take the form of anything at all, even things that traditionally hang outside the realm of art. Anything you create from your heart, your soul, and with your body, is art. Stephen Hawking is an artist, so is Alan Greenspan. Their talents just lie in directions not necessarily meant to hang on gallery walls. Being an artist is creating, having a certain quality of soul, being open, willing, taking nothing and making something from it. Art is a constant act of being and becoming, of enjoying a process and not caring about the result, of crafting a desired result. An artist is a philosopher, a craftsperson, an anarchist, a spiritualist, one who can see God (whatever form or fashion your god is, even if you don't call it by some deified name), and a madman.
Art coming alive is when some piece, installation, creation, actually speaks to a person or at least conjures up some feeling or thought - and those feelings or thoughts don't need to be complex. If the feeling you get is the same joy you had when playing in the mud as a small child, then the art or artist has done their job. If all you do is look at something and fall in love with the colours in it, then the art has done its job. There may be more that the creator intended, but in some way, however small, it's done its job if it affects you in any way. Where there is nothing flowing between the artist / the art and the audience, there is no life. It is just a person staring at something static that does not, and perhaps cannot ever, speak to them.
Art coming alive is, sometimes, when that art involves a physical act of participation. When you create a piece of entertainment for as small a group as possible, using as many performers as possible. it's anarchy.
Art coming alive, for me, happened the day I snuck over to my friend's house while she was at work, and dyed the snow on her front lawn several different colours, or when a dear friend of mine put a greeting card beep tone music thingie into his passport so that when they opened it up it played “Don't Worry Be Happy”.