Your Art Appreciation classes taught you how to appreciate art. They never told you what is and what isn't art. Way back when Mozart and Shakespeare were around, art meant something. Today, anything bizarre or arbitrary, no matter the quality, is called art or even genius. Some might ask me who I am to say what is and what isn't art. I have a simple definition that is better than what you'll find in any dictionary. Art is any action or creation that both achieves the intended purpose and requires uncommon skill. (by skill, I don't mean that a writer has to be a good wordsmith; the skill can be in the idea behind his work)

How do I justify my claim? Visual art reproduces an image on paper or canvas, appeals to the eye, promotes, and so on. Music entertains, soothes, or makes a statement. Fiction, movies, and every other art form has a purpose.

Now when you see a splatter of paint on a canvas, if there is no purpose, then you'll know that it is not art (unless the artist's purpose was to fake it for money or fame; in that case, all power to them). Congratulations. You've just completed your first course in Art Unappreciation.