“All art pieces created by humans throughout history have one thing in common: the presence of an ‘intention’ to create them.

 

In the early 20th century, there existed an artistic movement called Surrealism, which aimed to express what existed beneath the unconscious, uninhibited by reason. This movement aimed at new forms of expression born from the exploration of the unconscious realm, but even in these works, without exception, there is the human intention of creation.

 

There is also a concept known as readymade, where manufactured objects are regarded as artworks as is. The artist merely selects from manufactured objects those that could qualify as readymades. But, no matter how indifferent the selected objects may be to the artist, there is undoubtedly an intention from the artist behind that selection.

 

The same holds true for all other artworks. Even if they weren't created by one's own volition, there would always be an intention behind their creation.

 

In essence, a human ‘intention of creation’ has always existed in every artwork up to now. Thus, if one could create art devoid of ‘intention of creation’, might it not become a new form of expression previously unseen?

 

However, the important point here is that these ‘artworks devoid of an intention of creation’ must be ‘creations by humans’. Otherwise, anything and everything could qualify.

 

How about a cutting board, for instance?

 

In homes and restaurants around the world, cutting boards are routinely used for various cooking tasks. Long-used cutting boards will likely have stains from ingredients, marks from knives, signs of chips, damage, and the like.

 

Under the usual interpretation, it's merely deterioration. But when we change our perspective and see the cutting board as a support material, what might happen?

 

The moment a cutting board is viewed as a canvas, the marks left on it become artistic expressions, and might it not begin to exist as an artwork crafted over a prolonged period?

 

Cutting boards exist for culinary purposes, so there's no ‘intention of creation’ aimed at producing artistic expressions behind the stains from ingredients, marks from knives, and other blemishes on them. However, it is certain that acts of expression are performed manually by humans on the flat surface of the cutting board.

 

Typically, a used cutting board is considered valueless. As a result, those that have been used for a long time are typically discarded. But the moment one looks at it from a different angle, the cutting board could potentially become the first piece throughout the history of human artistic expression.

 

Must art always be created by artists? If so, when and by whom was this decided? Isn't it just an assumption?

 

By you utilizing this philosophy(idea) and designating a cutting board as an artwork, your mother, who has absolutely no interest in art, could potentially become the first ‘artist without the intention to create’ in human history.

 

Also, by collecting various types of cutting boards and assembling them into a single large flat artwork, we might be able to create a paradox: a ‘collaboration of artworks that don't aim for art’, crafted across different timelines by individuals with no connection to art.

 

Cutting boards are merely a mundane part of everyday scenery. However, by changing the interpretation of it and the perspective from which it's viewed, it can indeed become a work of art. This means that art can arise not only from the intentions of the creator, but also from the interpretation of the observer.

 

In other words, it's not just artists; rather, any observer ‘can create art’.”