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Why is it art? To some people visiting today‘s contemporary art gallery, a few squares of white slapped on the walls of an art gallery may be the ultimate in minimalism. But to others who often find themselves more bewilâ€" dered than enlightened by the work, it only makes them wonder why it is hanging on the walls. Speaking at the first in a series of Oakville Galleries‘ lectures on lookâ€" ing at contemporary art, Hilary Inwood said she is very familiar with the tensions between those who are bewildered and those who are the “exmrts”, By DIANE HART Special to the Oakville Beaver And they begin asking the "experts" a troublesome question â€" why is it art? Loans * Line of Credit * Tst, 2nd 3rd mortgages * NO Upâ€"Front Fees * Residential Commercial * Inâ€"Home or Office Consultation * Plazas/Apt./Office Bldgs. _ "*6 Days, 9 a.m.â€"9 p.m. * Up to 95% Financing . _ May 21 22 Violinist Jose Peleg takes you on a journey of the Best Of Beethoven For tickets please call (905) 815â€"2021 Why is contemporary art, art? "It is difficult, it is true," acknowlâ€" edged Inwood, at the recent lecture in the Education Centre at Gairloch Gallery. "Many many people say, for instance, with Ryman‘s work ... ‘Oh, that‘s not art. I can do that.‘ It‘s very much like (performance artist Joseph) Beuys â€" the entire definition of art is being challenged." Inwood, an arts education consulâ€" tant and former education officer at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), recalls the many times she faced the queries of perplexed AGO visitors who faced Robert Ryman‘s work â€" the five squares of white mounted.on the gallery walls. â€" One member of the audience asked Inwood why it is that viewers always have to be confronted or chalâ€" lenged by today‘s work, saymo she found it irritating. Inwood said it is true that contemâ€" She lays part of the blame for the tensions between art elitists and the public, with the experts. porary art often "confronts" viewers more than, say, traditional work like impressionism. And yet, she pointed out that at the time the traditional paintings, now taken for granted â€" Theodore Gericault‘s Raft of the Medusa, for example â€" were highly controversial. "Gericault was not allowed to exhibit it," she said. She added that today there are no easy answers in anything and that art reflects that ambiguity and complexiâ€" "We have to get involved. It almost drags us kicking and screamâ€" ing into it. That‘s what I love about contemporary art." Inwood went on to say that it is ironic that schools insist on teaching basic literacy and yet visual literacy is overlooked. "When was the last time you read an art magazine that was easily understood? Or what if you walk into a commercial art gallery and you‘re She said it is best not to use the traditional definitions of what is art because those definitions are no longer valid, especially with artists using any materials, forms, textures and process. Although Inwood said art is big business, it should also be valued for the new concepts and ideas it introâ€" duces. For instance, she showed the work of the controversial Canadian artist Richard Attila Lukas and his depictions of homosexuals and skinâ€" heads as one way in which new conâ€" cept sand ideas were being introâ€" duced. She urged those attending the lecâ€" ture series to begin to form their own definitions of what is art, rather than allowing the ‘experts‘ or the art magâ€" azines to do it for them. Her lecture began with the traditional definitions of art â€" from easily identified works like the Mona Lisa to the times where the rules began to shift; the days when an artist like Marcel Duchamp for instance, began defining art through his readymades or Piet Mondrian simplified painting down to a few colors and shapes. She traced the days of when Jackson Pollock â€" "Jack the Dripper" â€" altered the process of making art, through to Christo and his wrapping of the Pont Neuf in Paris. "These works are difficult to look at, but they are part of society and part of the way artists are stretching boundaries," she said. "Everything was shifting and everything was being challenged," said Inwood. Today, definitions of art are wide open. not dressed just ‘right‘ and you can tell because they‘re looking you up and down? Well, that‘s wrong. That system of elitism is wrong."