English has a word for art, and a museum wing to put it in. Most of the world’s societies have neither — which does not mean they have no art, only that the question arrives already loaded. Put an object on the plinth and test it against seven definitions: the eighteenth-century European fine-art category, the artworld, Boas, Alland, Dissanayake, Gell, and the emic test. The frame changes with the lens, and so does the answer.
Nothing on the plinth
Tap an object to put it on the plinth. The frame shows the verdict of the lens you have selected — solid gold if it counts as art, dashed gold if the case is contested, thin grey if it does not. The strip below the frame is the same object judged by all seven lenses at once; tap any cell to switch lens.
The drawings are neutral schematics, not reproductions of any particular work, maker or design; designs whose circulation is restricted are not depicted. Which side of a definition a case falls on is a consequence of the definition chosen, not a fact about the tradition.
Seven definitions, one objectpick an object to begin