Definition of Art
Reinventing Comics
By Scott McCloud
I have not finished reading this book yet, but starting on page 45 McCloud begins discussing the idea of what is and isn't "art". His theory (which he is reitterating from Understanding Comics*) is that art is more of an action than a tangible thing, and that it's something we do not for any particular reason or motive, but just because we want to. He argues that most of the motives behind our actions can be traced back to our two strongest instincts - to survive and rerproduce. But if an action - say for example painting a picture - isn't done to satisfy one of these instincts, and is just done for the sake of it (for the sake of "the work"), then perhaps it is art.
He does however point out that it's rare for a person's motivation to be that pure, and that when creating art there can be, and often is, another motive behind it e.g. financial gain, to impress others etc.
*pages 164-169
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