ch.1-What Is Art

What Is Art?

• Meaning of Art

  • Ability: Capacity to create beauty and evoke emotions.

  • Process: Various art forms including drawing, painting, sculpture, architecture, and photography.

  • Product: The final artwork itself.

• Importance of art vocabulary for understanding.

Truths About Art

• Art has multiple definitions and forms.

• Not all art has to be beautiful to hold value.

• Created for diverse reasons.

• Present in all cultures for thousands of years.

Appreciating Art

• To fully appreciate art, one must ask:

  • Why was the artwork created?

  • What is its purpose?

  • What is the historical context?

  • Does it reflect society or culture?

  • Does it express political or personal values?

  • Is there a personal or universal narrative?

Understanding Art

• Requires thorough examination from multiple perspectives.

  • Analyze artist's choices, medium, symbolism, and metaphors.

  • Compare artworks for context.

Style

• Style: Distinctive handling of media and elements associated with artists, schools, cultures, or periods.

  • Example: Pop Art utilizes popular culture-derived images.

Form

• Form: Encompasses elements, design principles, and composition.

  • Includes colors, textures, shapes, illusions of 3D, balance, rhythm, unity.

  • Formalistic Criticism: Focuses on artistic elements and design, excluding historical context.

Content

• Content: Everything included within a work.

  • Refers to lines, forms, symbols, themes, and underlying meanings.

Purposes of Art

• Art and Beauty: Art adds beauty and can depict different cultural concepts of beauty.

  • Beauty is culturally subjective.

• Art and Our Environment: Art enhances environments and serves decorative purposes.

Art and Truth

• Truth in art varies; can be subjective.

• Art can replicate nature or express personal experiences.

Art and Immortality

• Art is used to defy death and bridge time periods.

Art and Glory

• Art immortalizes people and events, often commissioned by patrons to celebrate accomplishments.

Art and Religion

• Art expresses hopes, propitiates deities, symbolizes significant religious events, and honors the deceased.

Art and Ideology

• Art can reinforce societal ideologies and commonly held beliefs.

Art and Fantasy

• Art expresses deep-seated fantasies and desires.

Art, Experience, and Memory

• Art records and communicates personal and collective experiences.

Art in Social and Cultural Context

• Records activities, objects, fashion, beliefs, crafts, and architecture.

Art and Social Consciousness

• Art responds to injustices and influences societal change.

Art and Popular Culture

• Utilizes readymades (common objects turned into art), assemblages (art from found objects), and pop art.

Needs of the Artist

• Artists create for various reasons including self-actualization, emotional needs, novelty, and beauty.

Outsider Art

• Refers to works by untrained or self-taught artists, including those facing isolation or mental health challenges.

Discussion Questions

• Why is there no singular definition of art?

• Who constitutes the audience for art?

• What are the meanings and purposes of art?

Chapter 2: Creativity & Communication

Objectives

• Discuss visual thinking, perception, and awareness.

• Explore the aesthetics of art and beauty.

• Differentiate between trained and folk artists.