Chap 1 and 2 notes

Art 211 Art Appreciation
Chapter 1 and 2 notes

Chapter 1 – The Nature of Art

What is Art? Our world has become a very visual one - we have art all around us. Understanding art is understanding our world! A good first step is to try to understand what we mean by art. There are no single answers and not everyone will agree on a definition.

§ Visual expression of an idea or experience formed with skills through the use of a medium
§ Medium – a particular material along with technique such as oil painting with oils

The Need to be Creative –
§ All societies produce objects that communicate beyond words and meet physical,
spiritual or aesthetic needs from simple tools to complex works
§ Aesthetic – sense of beauty

Purposes and Functions of Art –
§ Communicating information – art imparts information and ideas
§ Day to day living – art objects serve useful functions
§ Spiritual – to inspire and instruct the faithful
§ Personal expression – reveals the artist and their heritage
§ Social and political – used to influence values and public opinions
§ Visual delight – pleasure, enjoyment, amusement, diversion and embellishment

What are the various forms of art? When you think of art, what do you think of? What is the difference between the words "statue" and "sculpture". "Statue" suggests sculpture that is realistic, usually representing the human form. "Sculpture" is a broader term, many are abstract.

Is there a size limit to art? Art can come in all sizes, from massive public art to dainty table top pieces. What are some large public pieces that you know about?

Is art defined by its materials? We're all used to thinking of paintings as art. Or bronze or marble sculptures. But art can be made from all kinds of materials.

A work can even combine art forms! Photography, ceramics, metalwork, collage - these can all be incorporated into a painting or vice versa. Robert Rauschenberg uses many items in his assemblage/collage work on pg 427 Monogram is created with a stuffed goat, a tire and a painting.

Some art moves! A piece may turn in the breeze, like the Calder mobiles. Or have a motor or they can have sound. The mobile shown on pg 58 is by Calder was made with metal and is called a kinetic sculpture.

Does art have to be representational? Is it necessary for it to actually look like something, such as a woman, or a vase of flowers? Does art have to be realistic? Is it better if it is realistic? What makes it realistic? Can it be something that suggests something real, even if it doesn't look exactly like our eye sees it in real life?







Chapter 2 – Awareness, Creativity, and Communication
Visual Thinking –
§ Imagination and memory
§ Different images based on experience, values, and interests
§ Intellectual visual thinking – we assume a house has rooms
§ Creative visual thinking – we see objects but can associate them with feelings, shapes, colors

What about abstract art? What is abstract art about? It can suggest many things, create many moods, or simply celebrate something as basic as form or color. You'll notice that when you look at abstract art you tend to describe it in terms of feelings. If makes you feel happy. It makes you feel tense. Or this painting looks angry. Or quiet and peaceful. This is a wonderful way to interpret art!

Perception and Awareness –
§ Perceive – to become aware through senses, sight and hearing,
§ Awareness - to be conscious, to understand

Is it art if it is intended for another purpose? If it is originally created with the intention to instruct, or record, or illustrate, is it still art?

Looking and Seeing –
Looking – implies taking in what is before us in a purely mechanical way
Seeing – implies a more active extension of looking, a higher level of perception

Art has always had many roles. It is thought that the beautiful hunting scenes painted in caves by prehistoric man were made as part of a ritual to assure a successful hunt. Paintings and now photography have long been used to record how things or people look - portraits of people, landscapes and cityscapes of places. The ancient Greeks used ceramic vases to depict scenes from everyday life. Art has also long been used to tell stories or history. Religious art sets out to explain beliefs, tell a spiritual story, or simply for inspiration (think of the impact of walking into a gothic cathedral, with its combination of soaring architecture and light filtering down through stained glass windows.) Art can be used to memorialize an event or person. The Viet Nam Memorial by Maya Lin on pg 166 is a memorable example.

Can art be functional? If a piece is something we use for everyday living, like a fork or a blanket, can it be art? See page 6 for everyday items that are decorative as well as useful.

Aesthetics, Art and Beauty –
§ Aesthetics – refers to an awareness of beauty
§ da Vinci, Otto Dix, van Gogh, and Jean-Michel Basquiat – explored ugliness through personal expression

Does art have to be beautiful? What about a piece that looks truly ugly to you? Is it still art? Perhaps the artist is communicating something with that "ugliness". Sometimes the artist is trying to shock the viewer, or to make you feel uncomfortable. Why would an artist want to do that? Perhaps to make people see things in a new way?

Creativity – human imagination involves art, science and technology all through civilization
Untrained artists - also called outsider artists
Folk Artists –
§ Folk artists - little or no formal art education
§ Folk art – traditions of style, theme and craftsmanship creating from an inner desire to communicate
§ Forms of folk art – quilts, samplers, weather vanes, cravings, etc.

Are crafts art? Jewelry making, quilting, and woodworking are all referred to as crafts. Some people also call them art, while others only use the word art for certain pieces that they feel cross the line from crafts to art. Is the thing that makes the difference between craft and art the fact that it is functional? Or is the difference more about whether it is good or mediocre art, and relegating the mediocre to the craft category? What do you think?
It seems like many times arts and crafts get lumped together into a catch phrase most often used to describe camp activities for children. But what is the difference between art and a craft?
A craft is usually a cookie-cutter or close-ended activity. The craft activity is based on a formula and all participants follow the same directions and end up with roughly the same result every time. For example, creating a god’s eye from two sticks and colored yarn is a great craft example. Yes, it involves creating something, but the end product is most always the same and there’s not a lot of room for variation.
An art activity is more open-ended. For example, in a drawing project all participants may start with the same materials of paper and pencils then are asked to create drawings that represent their family. The results of this project will create many different drawings and therefore many different solutions to the same problem. While the end result may not always be considered art, the possibility of creating an original drawing that transcends its parameters and materials is always possible, and seems to be the definition of art.

Trained Artists – generally were men that worked as apprentices to accomplished masters developing knowledge of contemporary and historical art

All artists need to be independent thinkers, going beyond group mentality to expend new experiences to those who see their art.

Visual Communications –
§ In art, visual experience is essential
§ Words help us analyze and discuss art

Art and Appearances –
§ Representational – realistic art
§ Abstract – departs from natural appearances but is recognizable
§ Non-objective – without reference to anything but itself

Form and Content –
§ Form is what we see – the total effect of the combined visual qualities within a work including materials, color, shape, line and design
§ Content is the meaning we get from what we see – the message or meaning of the work of art that the artist communicates to the viewer

Iconography – the symbolic meaning of signs, subjects and images.

If art is used to sell something is it still art? We call this commercial art. What are some of the forms of commercial art around us? Trademarks and logos are powerful visual communicators. Other kinds of commercial art are billboards, tv ads, animation in computer games, and package design. Some of these are beautiful. Some are not. But all were created by someone for a specific commercial purpose. Is that art?

What is the one thing that all these art forms have in common? All art has one defining thing that it shares with all other art - COMMUNICATION! All forms of art communicate something... a feeling, an idea, a record of fact, another way of looking at something, a statement about something wrong in our society, an appreciation of something beautiful, a spiritual understanding. Can you think of an example of art that does not communicate anything?