I have been thinking.  Maybe the use of the word ‘artwork’ is meant to make the art more accessible.  The word ‘work’ adds a commonality to it that ‘art’ by itself might not have.  Everyone has to work.  Although, my husband thinks that ‘artwork’ is a more complex word than ‘art’, thus more elitist.

It is ironic if the use of the word ‘artwork’ is to make art more accessible.  Much of the newer art has become less accessible as it is becoming more cerebral and less visually appealing*, with lengthy descriptors attached to explain the point of the image/installation/sculpture.  Without the descriptors most viewers would be lost as to the reasoning behind the piece.  Even with the descriptors, I sometimes feel like I am participating in the Emperor’s New Clothes.

*The word I wanted to use was pulchritudinous.  My son came across it while investigating the thesaurus.  It is such a fabulous word.  It means beautiful, but in a ‘knock you on your backside that woman is gorgeous’ kind of way, not necessarily the beauty that can be found in art.  The word’s appearance does not reveal its meaning.