What is art?

The site I am talking about here is http://howmuchitcosts.us/ by digital artist, Michael Mandiberg.

I really don't think that a site like this should be called art per se, but then again...what is art? There's a fine line these days in defining what is and what isn't considered "art." I feel like this is a question that often arises and I couldn't tell you my exact definition of art.

Oxford American Dictionaries (widget) defines art as "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power."

I guess this can convey emotional power, but it doesn't to me, it leads me to frustration. I thought it was a swell concept, but I didn't get the full effect because of broken links sending me error messages such as "Price of Fuel: $error per gallon; Cost of Trip: $0.00" Yeah...that gets me interested in C02 emissions...not. Click, new site! The site COULD be used as a tool if it worked, but it doesn't.

I'm not saying that I don't respect sites like these, but I just don't think they are "art." It's the age long debate...I think the definition of art will be forever changing and forever disputed. I mean really anything can be art, but at the same type a lot of things that people consider art I (along with many others) don't.

A site that I like that doesn't have as much of a political message to send as Michael Mandiberg's site is this one:

http://www.publicearth.com/signup

Public Earth can be considered art, but then again I see this site more as a tool as well. Then again the aforementioned dictionary describes the word tool as "a device or implement, esp. one held in the hand, used to carry out a particular function." So a calculator is a tool, but now we have calculators on computers, some of which can not be held in one's hand...and computers don't just have ONE particular function. So maybe a computer is a tool? A multi-tool? Art? I mean, hey...somebody (rather many people and machines) created the computer...and it could send an emotional message...

Ambiguity is the term of the century:

"Uncertainty or inexactness of meaning in language."