What Is an Artist, Anyway?

Here’s a question I keep circling back to:
What actually makes someone an artist?

Because lately, it feels like there’s this invisible ladder in the creative world — where some people decide whose art is “real” and whose isn’t. Like if you’re not painting oil portraits or sculpting from marble, you’re somehow not part of the club.

But isn’t art supposed to be subjective?

Think about it: a child glues macaroni to paper and proudly calls it “The Universe.” That’s art. Someone folds paper plates and toothpicks into a sculpture. Art. Another person tapes a banana to a wall… and it sells for $6.2 million at auction.
(Yes, that really happened — a piece called Comedian by Maurizio Cattelan. A banana. Duct-taped. To a wall. Six. Point. Two. Million. Dollars.)

Maurizio Cattelan’s “Comedian” — the $6.2 million banana that challenged everything we think we know about art. Proof that meaning doesn’t come from the medium, but from the minds looking at it.

You could roll your eyes — and plenty of people did — but someone saw meaning in that banana. Someone else saw humor. Someone else saw investment potential. And someone, clearly, saw art.

So who’s right?

If every artist painted the same sun, maybe then we could compare skill, precision, technique. But art isn’t about sameness — it’s about perspective. One person might see joy in a painting; another might see sadness. The difference isn’t in the brushstroke — it’s in the eyes that are looking at it.

So what makes one artist “better” than another?
What makes one piece worth millions while another gathers dust?
Is it talent? Emotion? Marketing? Timing?

Maybe art isn’t meant to be ranked at all. Maybe it’s simply meant to be — to connect, to provoke, to make someone feel something.

But what do you think?
Is art defined by skill or by emotion? By price or by purpose?
And does being an “artist” require talent… or just the courage to create?

I’d love to hear your thoughts below — this one feels like a conversation worth having.