"art," may name the processes involved in the art world (i.e., ideation, creation, infusion, display, interpretation, re-infusion)...
or it simply names the object created
with it's connotation...
or it names the tool used to communicate.
so, if i used the analogy of writing as visual art, we are either talking about "literature," "writing," or "grammar."
It has come to my attention that meaning is a tool I have used (and have an inkling everyone else uses) to keep life from being to dismal and boring to bear. I ended up seeing art as an empty exercise in installing meaning in a place where there simply is *none*.
(I have this thing with eliminating unessesary meaning, rather than some prescribed ideology like religion, or politics, and now (i cringe as i say it) art.) basically,
"literature" is out.
Then there is the simple definition of art as an act of creation. No good for me, you get the dada contingent. I am impressed with dada's realizations, but the fact that the art is random discredits it. You wouldn't type 300 pages of random letters an attempt to pass it off as a novel with plot structure. I prefer art to be an attempt at communication through the randomness of insanity, rather than a scientific demonstration of chaos. I know about chaos, don't waste a canvas on it. So the "writing" factor may be eliminated.
Which leaves one with grammar, which i am actually liking for the moment. "art" (with a lowercase a), is a language system. A tool for communication. . .the art is only as good as the idea it is attempting to communicate. There is no arguing that the literature factor and the act of creation are important to this- the meaning you install in the action are what you might call Art (with a capital A).
The artists job is to learn the language concisely, so as that they can select quality (subjective, of course) ideas to communicate, and perhaps have a chance of creating something others may call "Art".
Unless, of course, you are working entirley outside the bonderies of definition, in which case you get visionary art. In this case, you are making art for art's sake, and hopefully don't require a defintion.