What is "state of the art"

a. At the highest level of development at a particular time; cutting-edge. alt. At the highest level of development at a particular time; cutting-edge. n. The condition of scientific or technical knowledge, particularly the peak or highest level thereof, at a particular time.

n. the highest degree of development of an art or technique at a particular time; "the state of the art in space travel"

State of the art (sometimes cutting edge) refers to the highest level of general development, as of a device, technique, or scientific field achieved at a particular time. It also refers to such a level of development reached at any particular time as a result of the common methodologies employed at the time. The term has been used since 1910, and has become both a common term in advertising and marketing, and a legally significant phrase with respect to both patent law and tort liability. In advertising, the phrase is often used to convey that a product is made with the best possible technology, but it has been noted that "the term 'state of the art' requires little proof on the part of advertisers", as it is considered mere puffery. The use of the term in patent law, by contrast, "does not connote even superiority, let alone the superlative quality the ad writers would have us ascribe to the term".

State of the art often refers to the highest level of development of a device, technique, or scientific field, achieved at a particular time.

State of the art may also refer to:

• State of the art, a patent law concept, which is a synonym of prior art
• The State of the Art, a collection of short fiction by Iain M. Banks
• State of the Art (demo), an Amiga computer demo
• State of the Art (book), a book by American film critic Pauline Kael
• State of the Art (Shinhwa album), a 2006 album by Shinhwa
• State of the Art (Hilltop Hoods album), a 2009 album by Hilltop Hoods
• State of the Art (Presto album)
• "State of the Art", the eighth track on the album Making Mirrors by Gotye
• "State of the Art" (Sliders), an episode of the television series Sliders

State of the Art is a studio album by South Korean boy band Shinhwa. It was released on 11 May 2006 by Good Entertainment, and represents the group's eighth major album release (tenth overall).

State of the Art is the third full-length album released by Los Angeles-based hip hop producer Chris "Presto" Douglas. The album was released worldwide on June 17, 2008 on Concrete Grooves and Distributed by Fat Beats (US) and by Mic Life Records in Japan. The album was given a "Three Mic" rating in The Source's "Record Report" (July 8) and has been well received by most critics.

The Album features artists such as; Sadat X ( Brand Nubian), Large Professor ( Main Source), O.C., Blu, T-Weaponz, LOWD, Mhax Montes (3rd Khind), Rashaan Ahmad, Wayward Saints, J Theory (3rd Khind), Fatlip ( The Pharcyde), Kim Hill (former member of The Black Eyed Peas), CL Smooth ( Pete Rock & CL Smooth), Dhurti Whoutr, Trek Life, IN-Q, Presto himself as well production by Large Professor Conquer Mentally ( Remix).

The 12" Vinyl version of State of the Art is an EP and contains only 6 songs. There was also a limited promotional CD released with the full CD version of State of the Art with unreleased and re-released instrumentals from Presto. The Japanese release bears a different cover design and remixes not featured on US LP.

State of the Art is the fifth studio album released by Australian hip hop trio, Hilltop Hoods, on 12 June 2009.

State of the Art: Film Writings 1983–1985 is the eighth collection of movie reviews by the critic Pauline Kael.

In the Author's Note at the beginning of this collection she wrote:

"The title of this book is a deliberate break with my sexually tinged titles of the past. It seemed time for a change; this has not been a period for anything like Grand Passions. I hope that State of the Art will sound ominous and sweeping and just slightly clinical. What I try to get at in this collection of reviews from June 1983 to July 1985 is the state of the art of moviemaking. And despite the dubious state of the art[..]there has always been something to recommend."

Kael reviews 117 films in this eighth collection. She gives rich praise to the work of performers and directors she admires, for example, Molly Ringwald's performance in Sixteen Candles, - Steve Martin, Robin Williams, and Nick Nolte, ( three perennial Kael favourites), and Luchino Visconti, for his work on The Leopard - "The Leopard is so beautifully felt that it calls up a whole culture. It casts an intelligent spell - intelligent and rapturous." (Though Visconti's film had originally been released in 1963, Kael is here reviewing the release of a full length three hours and five minutes version). And she's typically cool to work she regards as second rate; 'When you come out of Desperately Seeking Susan, you don't want to know who the director is - you want to know who the perpetrator is.' And Steven Spielberg's segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie - a, " lump of ironclad whimsy. It's as if Steven Spielberg had sat down and thought out what he could do that would make his detractors happiest." And Sylvester Stallone's work on Staying Alive; "What can be done about this mock writer-director-producer-actor? He has become the stupidos' Orson Welles."

Films she recommends in this eighth collection include The Survivors, The Grey Fox, The Leopard, Under Fire, Heart Like a Wheel, Yentl, Choose Me, Splash, Moscow on the Hudson, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Repo Man, Dreamscape, Carmen, Utu, Stop Making Sense, A Soldier's Story, Comfort and Joy, Independence Day, Mrs. Soffel, A Passage to India, Micki + Maude, The Makioka Sisters, The Return of the Soldier, A Private Function, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Heartbreakers, Lost in America, Ghare Baire, Prizzi's Honor, The Shooting Party.

The book is out-of-print in the United States, but is still published by Marion Boyars Publishers in the United Kingdom.