What is art?

 What is "art"?  Webster's Dictionary has a long list of definitions.  I think it's easier to boil all that down to its root:

Art is a creative expression that evokes thought or emotion.

We can go one step further and drop the 'creative' since it's partially redundant, and in itself requires several pages of definition, unnecessary to this article.

The type of thought or emotion does not matter, nor does the medium of expression.  Was it an expression?  Check.  Did it evoke thought or emotion?  Check.  Great.  That's art.  The bigger the evocation the "better" the art.

The type of expressive medium does not matter.  Examples include all manner of image, regardless of permanence some lasting merely an instant, others seemingly to last for all eternity.  Sounds likewise, be they spoken word, music, or simply a noise without language or structure.

Whether a thing is art also depends upon the audience.  Not all art will evoke a thought or emotion of any kind in all audiences.  Comedy, for example, is art, however some comedy relies upon a shared, common, knowledge between the artist and audience.  So it is with any other medium of communication.

The type of emotion or thought:  Does that matter? 

To the definition of art, no.  It does not matter.  The evocation of any thought or emotion qualifies the expression as art.  But, does the kind of emotion or thought that was evoked matter?

Yes.

Why then?  Art can evoke anger, love, hatred, awe, disgust, beauty, and more.  Sometimes the evocation the artist was going for is different than the evocation achieved.  This is the interpretive nature of art.  Sometimes the message is not clear, and a message is not required for the performance to be considered art.  Sometimes the evocation comes from within the observer.  

If we fill the world with art that evokes hatred, disgust, and anger, then our society will necessarily take the form of anger, disgust, and hatred.

What if, on the other hand, we fill our world with love, beauty, and awe?  Our world begins to take the shape of beauty, awe, and love.

Art is communication.  It can be used to communicate truths and emotions:  Wordless concepts difficult to express.  It can be used to implore, exalt, or discipline.  It can be used to lie.

The content of our art matters, because it is we who shape our world.  Will you be loving and kind, or will you be hateful and cruel?