Art Appreciation
Do you appreciate art?
Christo and Jeanne-Claude. The Gates, New York City, Central Park.
1979–2005.
Christo. The Gates, Project for Central Park, New York City. 2003.
15 x 96 in. and 42 x 96 in.
Torii gates. eighth century.
Seven Steps to
Thinking Critically
about Art
1. Identify the artist’s decisions and choices, be observant
2. Ask questions, be curious
3. Describe the object, be rational
4. Question your assumptions, be understanding
5. Avoid an emotional response, be patient
6. Don’t oversimplify or misrepresent the art object, be fair
7. Tolerate uncertainty, be prepared
The four roles of the artist:
1. Artists help us to see the world in new or innovative ways.
2. Artists make a visual record of the people, places, and events of their
time and place.
3. Artists make functional objects and structures more pleasurable and
elevate them or imbue them with meaning.
4. Artists give form to the immaterial-- hidden or universal truths, spiritual
forces, personal feelings.
1. Artists help
us to see the
world in new
or innovative
ways.
Dario Robleto, Cassette: carved bone & bone dust from every bone in the body, trinitite (glass
produced during the first atomic test explosion at Trinity test site circa 1945, when heat from blast
melted surrounding sand), metal screws, rust, letraset; audio tape: an original composition of
military drum marches, weapon fire, and soldiers' voices from battlefields of various wars made
from Electronic Voice Phenomena recordings (voices and sounds of the dead or past, detected
through magnetic audio tape).
2. Artists make
a visual record
of the people,
places, and
events of their
time and place.
John Ahearn and Rigoberto Torres. Pat. 1982.
28 1/2 x 16 1/2 x 11 in.
2. Artists
make a
visual
record of
the people,
places, and
events of
their time
and place.
Claude Monet. Le Pont de l’Europe, Gare Saint-Lazare. 1877.
25 1/4 x 31 7/8 in.
Kane Kwei. Coffin Orange, in the Shape of a Cocoa Pod. c. 1970.
34 x 105 1/2 x 24 in.
3. Artists make functional objects and structures more pleasurable and
elevate them or imbue them with meaning.
Matthew Smith. Cuff links, c 2010.
Silver, Acrylic, Palm Wood
3. Artists make functional objects and structures more pleasurable and
elevate them or imbue them with meaning.
3. Artists
make
functional
objects and
structures
more
pleasurable
and elevate
them or imbue
them with
meaning.
Renzo Piano. Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center, Nouméa, New
Caledonia. 1991–1998.
4. Artists give
form to the
immaterial-hidden or
universal truths,
spiritual forces,
personal
feelings.
Magical figure, nkisi nkonde. Late nineteenth century.
height 20 in.
4. Artists give
form to the
immaterial-hidden or
universal truths,
spiritual forces,
personal
feelings.
Jan van Eyck. God. Panel from The Ghent Altarpiece, c. 1432.
Jan van Eyck. The Ghent Altarpiece. c. 1432.
11 ft. 5 in. x 15 ft. 1 in.
4. Artists give
form to the
immaterial-hidden or
universal
truths, spiritual
forces,
personal
feelings.
Pablo Picasso. Seated Bather (La Baigneuse). 1930.
64 1/4 x 51 in.
Jasper Johns. Three Flags. 1958.
30 7/8 x 45 1/2 x 5 in.
Active Seeing– looking more closely at the world and
understanding how our past and culture affects what we see.
Faith Ringgold. God Bless America. 1964.
31 x 19 in.
Yukinori Yanagi. America. 1994.
each 8 x 12 in.