Almost anyone who can use a modern camera, can take a photograph of an object and capture its outward appearance. Art, true art, goes way, way beyond this.
This quote from Aristotle sums up the difference, perfectly: “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”
Artists aim for the inner significance. They seek to capture the very essence of whatever their work is focusing on and not just create an accurate, outward copy of the original.
As Picasso said, great artists don’t copy, they steal!