Abstract
This paper, based on Roger Pouivet’s “applied ontology” theory, studies the effect of Warhol’s Brillo soap boxes, a work that could not convince the art world, when it was first shown, to accept it as an art piece. We strive to answer two questions: In the contemporary age, what aesthetic criteria turn a human-made work into an artwork? And deriving from Pouivete’s “applied ontology” theory, how is a contemporary artwork considered as the personal symbols of the artist and how are the aesthetic characteristics of the work received? An artwork in any style, form and content, includes contextual and formal symbols. In the contemporary age, this becomes a mix of personal symbols and already known collective symbols of a culture that together play a defining role in the creation of the artwork. In other words, a work will be recognized as an artwork when it is the subject of arguments among art experts, even without needing to reach any consensus.
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