So, you got a line on some paper....

This is in response to Matt Visser's post. He asks the question "can art still be considered art if there is just a line drawn on the paper?" My answer is yes. I believe that art can exist as long as someone that created it intended for it to be art. It does not have to be complex or amazing. Now, whether it is GOOD art or not, is another matter completely. I believe that there is an incredible amount of art in the world and some of it I do not like. The fact that i think it is awful does not mean that it stops being art. If you see a car and you say its the ugliest car you have ever seen, it doesn't refute the fact that the car is still a car. Many people are swayed towards some art because it is aesthetically pleasing. I like any kind of art where you can tell that effort was put into it. It doesn't matter to me whether the picture is creepy or morbid, as long as the artist put time into it. If you put a line on a piece of paper intending for it to be art, then it would be.
In some cases the question is harder to answer. In the book an example is given; in Africa, things were made along time ago to serve a purpose. Those objects were not created as art but are considered art by society.
Question: If society views an object as art, does it make that object art?