Jumping in again...
This is the first chance I've had to revisit this thread and there has been a lot said and a lot of ground covered.
tktoo, you are partly right with your assessment, however it's not as vague as you imply and not entirely as subjective. There are qualifiable means that you can use to assess a work. Be it design, craft or art. Those measures can discern "good" and "bad". Despite the rampant pluralism in society today, there are standards by which you can establish whether a work is good (successful) or not. The subjective part come into play when the viewer asserts their aesthetic preferences. Some people are not able to discern the difference. I can look at a work and though it may be "good" art (and I can recognize it as such) I can say that I don't care for it. That is my subjective assessment of it. My preferences are not something that should be used to measure the quality of a work.
Regarding your assertion that a work of art is one because an artist has labeled it such, I don't agree. There are a lot of people making pictures and objects that they think are art (and would label it so) that I would vehemently disagree with and I believe that I could back my position up with a point-by-point argument. I think what makes something "Art" is intent and context. I think that Duchamp might well tell you that "Fountain" is not art. Rather is is a urinal. But of course his entire purpose was to subvert and make people question what art is and he liked to invert the discussion on those that argued the most fervently. You may well be aware that there have been scholarly papers written that suggest that even Duchamp could not (try as he may) separate his artistic choices from aesthetics and that the urinal that he chose was just one of many available at the time and happens to be one that has a more pleasing shape than many of the others.
Anyway, to try and bring the discussion back to Leslie's art tables. I agree with others that the newest piece with the cantilever design and free wood edge is more interesting than some of your earlier efforts and I would suggest that you consider the thickness of the legs/ base. I assume that the stock is hollow? I think it might be more interesting if you used solid flat-bar stock. It could accentuate the cantilever and make the profile more slender, elegant and relate to other known forms in a more interesting way. Look at Mies' flat-bar Brno chair compared to some of the designs by Milo Baughman. I think that regardless of your desire to make your tables Art, if you are going to use the form of a table and the visual vocabulary that comes with that, you will want to be well versed in the many well known and highly regarded designs from the past. I'd guess that there would be much to learn from, things you could take and use and things you could reject and fight against.
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com