Understanding Art: Structure, Functions, and Philosophy

Vocabulary flashcards covering core definitions, etymology, functions, assumptions, philosophical concepts, and aesthetic theories of art based on the lecture slides.

l'art

A French word meaning skills as a result of learning or practice.

ars

A Latin word meaning ability or practical skills.

artis

An Italian word meaning craftsmanship or skills used of hands.

Art (General Definition)

Any activity or product done by people with a communicative or aesthetic purpose, serving as a product of human inventiveness and creativity.

Susanne Lander's View of Art

The concept that art molds our actual life of feelings and articulates human nature, sensitivity, energy, passion, and mortality by giving form to the world.

Albert Einstein's Definition of Art

The view that "Art is the expression of the profoundest thoughts in the simplest way."

Adam Lauder's Definition of Art

The idea that art captures and communicates nuances, paradoxes, unresolved or unresolvable tensions, and ambiguities that exceed ordinary communication.

Aristotle's Definition of Art

Defining art as "the realization of a true idea in physical form."

Kant's Definition of Art

Defining art as "a kind of representation that is purposive in itself and, though without an end, nevertheless promotes the cultivation of the mental powers for sociable communication."

Jaylen H. LLI Akron's View of Art

The perspective that art is concerned with a sensuous medium such as the mind and senses, which arouse inner emotions.

Ad Reinhardt's "Art as Art"

The theory that art transcends rigid definition, embracing freedom from judgment, rules, or the need for beauty, and requiring active viewer engagement.

Newsprint Collage

An Early Modernist Mixed Media artwork created by Ad Reinhardt in 1940.

Scope of Art

A visual object, experience, systems, methods, and processes consciously created through an expression of skill or imagination.

Limitations of Art

The boundaries present in artistic experience, including style boundaries, material boundaries, cognitive boundaries, and aesthetic boundaries.

Personal Function of Art

The function of art that fulfills an individual's private, unique understanding of self, thoughts, and personal experience.

Social Function of Art

Art deliberately designed to influence group thinking, encouraging people to laugh together, adopt ideologies, or see social situations differently.

Psychological Function of Art

The non-leisure function of art dealing with self-identity, self-actualization, remembering, hope, rebalancing, growth, and avoiding sorrow.

Physical Function of Art

The function of art related to objects used for a practical purpose due to their physical structure, such as furniture, gadgets, or architecture.

Historical Function of Art

The recording and documentation of the human past, allowing people to understand history and its relationship to the present.

Cultural Function of Art

The function of art that influences society by changing opinions, instilling values, and translating experiences across space and time.

Religious Function of Art

The convergence of art and spiritual impulse through rituals and sacred narratives to produce "an experience of the numinous" (Otto, 1923).

Aesthetic Function of Art

An experience characterized by fascination with an object, appraisal of its symbolic reality, and a strong feeling of unity with the aesthetic object.

Industry and Economy Function of Art

The role of art as a creative industry contributing to economic growth through sectors like advertising, entertainment, manufacturing, and tourism.

Political Function of Art

The relationship between art and power, where works respond to contemporaneous events and serve as a force for social and political change.

Human Condition

The characteristics, events, and situations defining human existence, encompassing struggles, triumphs, joys, and sorrows.

Art is Universal

The assumption that art immortalizes human achievements and possesses timeless value across cultures and history.

Art is Not Nature

The assumption that human art relies on human skill and creative ability, distinguishing it from natural objects created by God.

Art Involves Experience

The assumption stating that art appreciation requires actual doing and personal engagement with artwork.

Philosophy of Art

The study of concepts and the nature of arts, including interpretation, representation, expression, and form.

Interpretation

The attribution of meaning to a work of art.

Intentionalism

A branch of artistic interpretation concerned with the artist's original intention.

Anti-intentionalism

A branch of artistic interpretation that rejects the relevance of the artist's intention.

Representation

A type of description or portrayal in artwork that creates intimate worlds beyond mere physical subject reproduction.

Realism

Also called naturalism, the attempt in the arts to represent subject matter truthfully.

Impressionism

An art style focused on capturing an 'impression' of what a subject, light, or atmosphere looked like, rather than a realistic reflection.

Abstraction

Art that uses shapes, colors, forms, and gestural marks to achieve an effect rather than depicting accurate visual reality.

Aestheticism

A late 19th-century European theory proposing that art exists purely for the sake of its beauty alone.

Aesthetic Qualities

Qualities created when art elements and principles combine to evoke an overall mood, beauty, and harmony in a work.

Portrait of Ambroise Vollard

An oil-on-canvas painting created by Pablo Picasso in 1910.

Henry James's View on Art

The state that "Art is nothing more than the shadow of humanity."