The most straightforward ponderance is "What is art for?" A simplistic answer might be that "art is decoration", but this ignores a host of important and fundamental meanings. The history of art is filled with fantastic examples of canvas paintings showing distressing and violent imagery, stylised or otherwise inaccurate likenesses and also objects that require continuous care in order to prevent their wear and tear.

There is no doubt that canvas paintings have their aesthetic purposes and adorn any wall on which they are hung, but the role of art has many more aspects:

1. Art communicates emotion, feeling and teaches us history. Past events are relayed through art from times when there was no photography or any other medium that could be used to capture the moment and the memory. Things and events are documented in art.

2. Artists have for hundreds of years indulged their fantasies. These fantasises are not necessarily sexual, but through art the impossible can become possible. Reality can be redefined. The artist can indulge in sensuousness and express the passion and craving that comes from within.

3. Art provides a creative channel and allows the artist to channel their talent, thoughts and emotions. Many of the famous old masters artists were eccentric, some were even slightly mad, but in front of an easel with a palette they were all geniuses.

4. Pop art paintings express consumerism and images from an iconic perspective. Everyday brands and renowned people including Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe have been glorified. Pop art is about what makes us tick as a society and pop art paintings are a reminder that as a society, we buy into so much.

So who judges art? The judges of art are us, the observers. We have the right to interpret how we experience - there is no right or wrong, art is objective and individual. This must be so when you consider the concept of "Modern Art". Take Damien Hirst's "sheep in a tank" or Tracy Emin's "unmade bed". Some people love it, some people hate it, others think that they don't "get it". There is nothing to get, it is just what the art evokes in you as an human being. Does it make you feel? Does it create emotion?

Another consideration is "context". Context signifies the circumstances surrounding the production and actual reception of the art, rather than anything that is visually present in the art itself. Whether the artist was a man or woman, religious or secular, trained or totally self-taught, this is not something in the work but it can provide additional information that can affect our human being of the work.

Art is a joy. Canvas paintings provide one of the main platforms that provide this joy. Whether the art is traditional or aimed at popular consumerism such as in pop art paintings, that joy will live on forever. In order to fully appreciate art it is critical to keep your mind open to others' aesthetics and social customs by learning about the art of other times and places.

About the Author: You can purchase Canvas Paintings and modern-canvas-art.com Pop Art Paintings from the Modern Canvas Art website run by Sam Tennyson