Michelle Ward-- Plato's Art as Imitation

Plato’s definition of art as imitation was something that I really connected with throughout the semester. When Plato’s describes art as imitation he asserts that there is an ideal state of what something and art is not that. Socrates claims that the goal of art is that the imitation of mundane reality. I think that this concept is something very interesting to try to understand. If art is the imitation of mundane reality, then why do we try to reproduce it? If something is mundane, does that restrict it to being ordinary and dull or possibly refer to reality as routine? I think that if we are going to put a lot of emotion and interest into art that we produce, it is not created from something that is ordinary or dull. Inspiration comes from parts of our reality, while they may be routine, motivate us to attempt to recreate them. How can this concept of mundane reality as art define abstract art? Is there a different level of imitation all together because it is an abstract concept in itself?