art app - subject and content

• the core concept or focus of an art

• Is any person, animal, thing, or issue that is described or represented in a work.

Subject (Ortiz, Erestain, Guillermo, Montano, Pilar 1976)

• Have subject

• Use identifiable objects or symbols

• Also called objective arts

Representational arts

• do not have subject

• do not represent descriptions, stories or reference to identifiable objects or symbols

• also called non-objective arts

non-representational arts

Sources of Subjects

• nature

• historical events

• mythologies

• traditions

• historical texts

• other work of arts

Nature

Historical events

Mythologies

Traditions

Historical texts

Other works of art

Kinds of subject

• Landscapes

• Seascapes

• Cityscapes

• Still Life

• Animals

• Portraits

• Figures

• Everyday Life

• Legend and history

• Religion and Mythology

• Dreams and Fantasies

Landscapes

Seascapes

Cityscapes

Still life

Animals

Portraits

Figures

Everday life

Legend and history

Religion and mythology

Dreams and fantasies

communicated by the artist or the artwork

Content/meaning

According to Clever (1966), there are three different levels of meaning that a subject matter may acquire:

• Factual meaning

• Conventional meaning

• Subjective meaning

Literal statement or the narrative content in the work which can be directly understood because the objects presented are easily recognized.

Factual meaning

Special meaning that a certain object or color has for a particular culture or group of people

Conventional meaning

Any personal meaning consciously or unconsciously conveyed by the artist using private symbolism which stems from his own associations of certain objects, actions, or colors from past experiences.

Subjective meaning

A discipline of the arts that seems to be both healthy and dying. the analysis and evaluation of arts.

Art criticism

Methods in reading art

• formalism and style

• Iconography

• Contextual approaches

• Biography and autobiography

• Semiotics

• Psychoanalysis

• Aesthetic and psychoanalysis

Basically gives importance to the formal qualities (art elements, materials, and design principles) as basis for the meaning of art. Roger Fry is a major purveyor of this thinking.

Formalism and style

Focuses on the subject matter primarily over form.

Answer questions like:

Who is this person the artist painted and what does it represent?

Why did the artist choose this image and what for?

Iconography

From the term itself, context becomes an important factor in criticizing artworks here. We can take many approaches to contexts like Marxism, Orientalism, Colonialism, Racial Iconography, Feminism, and Gender.

Contextual approaches

Considers the life and context of the artist. This approach is based on the assumption that the artist's life, beliefs, choices, and personality are directly connected to the works that he or she creates.

Biography and autobiography

From the Greek word "sema" which means sign. Hence, an artwork or art form is assumed to be composed of a set of signs that may have significant cultural and contextual meanings beyond itself.

Semiotics

one is concerned about the unconscious mind in relation to the artist, the viewer, and the cultural context it is involved in.

Psychoanalysis

Individual notion of what is considered acceptable, beautiful, or attractive in works of art are in part influenced by psychological factors. This approach then connects psychology to one's constructed philosophy of art.

Aesthetic and Psychoanalysis