What is art?
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Art is visual communication - Grant Wood, American Gothic, oil, 1930
Art is spatial communication - Lorenzo Bernini, David, marble, 1623 -Frank Lloyd Wright, Falling Water, a private residence, Bear Run,
Pennsylvania, 1936.
Art attempts to communicate ideas and attitudes. Pablo Picasso,
Bull's Head, bonze, 1943. Because ideas and reactions to them change
with each period and culture, it is understandable that art changes.
Therefore, there are no absolute standards in art. The only constant in
art is change itself. Every work of art expresses the ideas and attitudes
of the society or individual that produced it. We may not like it but one
can appreciate it for its value to communicate an idea, present or past.
But, one cannot appreciate what one doesn't understand. To evaluate
a work of art, we must deal with it in the context of the society that
produced it. Jean-Honore Fragonard, The Swing, oil, 1766.
What are the ur oses/reasons of!. or art?
There have been many purposes for art in the history of mankind. One major
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purp.os~ has bee.n to ~ecure immortality (to r.emem?er and/or pre~~rve) Leonardo i\:'~'
D~V!ncl, Mona Lisa, 011, c. 1503-05 ~nd pre.stlge, M/.che/~ngelo~ Ceiling of ~he
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Sistine Chapel, c. 1508-12. The artist can Immortalize hiS subjects and gain
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prestige for himself. The patron of society which supports the artist can also look ':-'ll ... , ~, ,
for prestige or immortality throught art. Art is often a kind of visual progaganda ,":~?".1t,.~" '
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Palette of Narmer, Egyptian relief sculpture, c. 2700 B.C., or instruction:
Masaccio, Frescoes from the Brancacci Chapel, Florence, 1425 an expression of
moral and philosophical values for the purpose of perpetuating these values. Art
may also have propaganda value by presenting a"public image" to viewers. Art
works may also be made for enjoyment, Thomas Cole, The Oxbow, oil 1836 and
entertainment. Piet Mondrian, Broadway Boogie Woogie, Oil, 1942-43. There is
enjoyment in the act of creation, just as there is in viewing, experiencing, or
owning works fo art. Usually, art is created for a combination of purposes and
reasons,
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" Art is that which we do not know....the difference between the artist and
the craftsman is that the craftsman knows what to do.... "
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Where does the artistic imp.ulse come from?
Art is a vital part of everyday life. It is apparently an inborn urge
which is readily seen in children; drawing, painting, molding,
constructing even before learning to read or write. All are efforts
to create order from disorder, form from formlessness. Some
are of the opinion that the creation of art is a subconciously based
effort to gain control of ones environment and therefore, master it.
Adults creating art is a continuation and development of the child's
inborn impulse. One powerful motive for making art is the wish to
leave behind after death a product of value by which to be
remembered. The work of art symbolically prolongs the artist's
existence.
Fi .571 PonrQrroftJRomon c.SOICE.
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What are the iorms 01 art?
Art forms are the broadest classifications for art objects.
There are three major forms.
• Architecture is a three-dimensional art form
concerned primarily with enclosing space on a human scale
or larger. We experience architecture both from within the
enclosed space and from the outside.
• Painting is a two-dimensional art form consisting
of colored powders, pastes, or liquids applied to various surfaces.
Western artists have frequently attempted to create the illusion of
dept in their works, thus we often perceive the images in painting
as b g three-dimensional.
• Sculpture is a three-dimensional art form concerned
primarily with mass or volume of the work in relation to the space
around it. Historically, sculptors have emphasized surface texture
and lighting effects to enhance the massiveness of the images and
works created.
The so-called Minor-arts include forms which are normally classified
as "crafts" may include areas such as _pottery, weavil)g,
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metalsmithing, stained glass, and mosaics.
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How does one identify and understand an art
image or object?
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There are many tools that one may use for identification that are
equally valuable for purposes of analysis and understanding.
Namely, they are:
1. Subject matter--the physical manifestation of object or image
Also includes medium, artist, title and theme. Three themes used
through-out history that contain universal properties are:
"...Style is identity--and identity is everything.... "
-3a. images of his gods
b. images to explain the world around him
c. images to explain himself
Composition--the elements and principles of its arrangement
or design such as:
a. Elements
b. Principles
line
contrast
color
balance
texture
rhythm
shape
emphasis
value
variety
unity-transition
space
mass
simplicity
3. Content--*the meaning, purpose or reason for its existence.
Further, content generally involves interpretation,
appreciation, significance and both its historical and
aesthetic value (i.e., the degree to which the viewer
experiences it as beautiful).
Content often includes consideration of rather diverse,
subjective paths such as:
• A relevance to its time and/or universal truth, i.e.,
historical vs. contemporary perception.
• A rare form of "beauty"
• Symbol and abstraction vs. natural depiction
• The familiar from an unfamiliar point of view
• Creativity levels vary:
• Inspiration as compared to genius
• Craftsmanship compared to artist
• Primitive compared to academic
• Classical reasoning compared to romantic
intuition
• Possible viewpoints: philosophic, didactic
(teaching), social commentary
propagandic), opinionated, humorous,
ironic, absurd, decorative,and art about art.
• Role of the artist to a patron
• Role of the artist in society
a. anonymous craftsman of his society
b. Historical artist of his times, reflecting the
structure and identity of his society but
using his unique talent.
c. The individual arti~t, almost solely in the
modern era, whose work is personal,
including expressions of his inner
private visions while communicating the
truthand values of his times.
"Art for Art's Sake...."
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What is stJ'le?
Style may be called the characteristic way of giving expression to an
idea or emotion. Peter Paul Rubens, Stylistic considerations of the Baroque
school-color, light, power, movement, ie., drama. In art, it is the cumulative
result of choices made by the aritist in regard to the purpose, the art form, the
materials, techniques, and the elements of design. It is the unique combination of these characteristics that defines a style. Pop-Art--cultural symbols or
elements utilized as art objects, which include manifestations of mass communications or emphasized charactertistics of mass reproduction. Regional, cultural,
historical, individual, and group (school) styles are the most commonly discussed. Style changes are the result of many factors affecting cultures and
artists. Geography, economics, politics, religion, and time are the most obvious
influences.
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How is the value 01 art determined?
Works of art are valued by not only the artist or patron, but also by entire
cultures. Value, relative to art, is considered to be a social or human
construct produced in a relational system activated by human desires.
In general, we can refer to art as having:
Extrinsic (Material) Value which means works of art may simply be valuable
because it is made of precious material. Canopic cofffinette of Tutankhamen,
c. 1340B.C.--solid gold inlaid wih enamel and semiprecious stones.
Intrinsic Value does not necessarily relate to a work containing valuable
material. Its intrinsic value depends largely on people's assessment of the
artist who created it and on its own esthetic character - the degree to which
the viewer experiences it as beautiful or its desirability as a cultural
expression. Examples of work by Vincent Van Gogh, who during his own life
time sold little, if any of his work. His painting, Irises sold at auction in the
mid-1980's for 57,000,000.00, less than a hundred years after his death.
Other values include:
Historical: Venus of WiJlendorf, c. 30,000 - 15,000 B.C.,
Religious: The Pantheon, Rome, A.D. 117-125),
Patrotic: Eugene Delacroix, Liberty Leading the People, 1830, and s
Symbolic: Edouard manet, Olympia, 1865 and are determinable.