This water bottle came to my attention because it is a plain container. There are some containers that people consider art. Pottery, vases, and china are often considered to be works of art. However, this plastic water bottle was not intended to be decorative in any way. It is purely utilitarian.
I remembered from the reading "What is Art" by Bart Rosier, a section began, "Only when objects recovered from prehistoric contexts, or ethnographic contexts, are placed in the art museum and presented as art do they become works of art. But then they are placed outside their context, or maybe even outside any context."
The example the author quoted to clarify his position was this:
"Until now, African pottery, wooden carvings and textiles had been viewed
essentially as handicraft because ... they had not been created as art, to be
appriciated for their own sake. Even after 'primitive' African art inspired Picasso,
Brancusi, Braque, Modigliani and Henri Moore earlier this century, it was its
magical and mystical quality that counted most. But at the Royal Academy,
objects made by African hands are seperated from their cultural context and
can be judged simply as art."
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