Written on August 9, 2013 – International Art Appreciation Day
What’s Your “Term of Art?”
I have always been fascinated by peoples' use of the word “art.” It is currently Friday evening, August 9th, and I am confident I am not the only person not out partying, crazily celebrating International Art Appreciation Day, which is today! With the utmost of respect for this day of recognition, I am equally confident that I am not the only person who was surprised to know this day exists. It does; and sets the perfect tone for the theme of this message - ART.
Without context, the simple word “art” has vastly varying meanings, definitions and uses to different people and in a variety of settings. The definitional origins of the word have included statements such as “skills as a result of learning or practice,” “a business craft,” “skill in scholarship and learning,” and “human workmanship as opposed to nature.” My personal favorite, because it represents a certain irony in my mind, is “a diverse range of human activities and the products of those activities.” For purposes of this message, I also draw attention to the 1600’s, during which there are the first recorded roots and references to the creative arts, especially by painting, sculpture and drawings. This is also the era responsible for the first known use of the expression “Term of Art,” that in 1656 was defined as “a word or phrase that has special meaning in a particular context” or a term that has a specialized meaning in a particular field or profession. I pause here to think of how many terms of art abound in the field of regulation. . .
