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Art Appreciation: Introduction - What Is Art?
Art Appreciation: Introduction - What Is Art?
Art Appreciation: Introduction - What Is Art?
Introduction--What is Art?
What does it
communicate?
An appreciation of art is
complex, but fundamentally
human & built into our
neurophysiology.
WATCH VIDEO -- How the brain sees
art
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5
oYmegXpu2k)
Iconography = visual language
To a non-Christian,
this scene of a
horrific execution is
perplexing; a
Christian sees
something quite
different.
To the modern eye,
this nude fleshy
female may appear
pornographic, but
to the people who
crafted her in the
Neolithic Period,
she represented
fertility and life, not
sex.
Through the
VAST majority of
history, art has
been primarily
FUNCTIONAL,
not decorative.
Images held
power and were
created to bring
about a
SPECIFIC result.
When is a horse not just
a horse? When it is a
symbol of hoped-for
sustenance that would
keep your clan alive, of
course.
These Dogon
masks aren’t just
wonderfully
beautiful (which
they certainly
are)--they are
vehicles of
transformation
that allow the
wearer to connect
to the spirit world
when worn in
ceremony
Dogon ritual procession.
Conveying information
through images can be
very efficient!
Ethnocentrism = viewing
other cultures through the
lens of your own
Portrayed in European
clothing, tattoos de-
emphasized, placed in the
typical position for a
portrait.
Self-portrait of the
same man.
The way he saw
himself was clearly
MUCH different than
the outsider’s view.
● Tell a story
Despised by
contemporaries, this image
was the antithesis of the
accepted artistic methods.
This painting was viewed as
unfinished and poorly done,
but is now considered the
spark of the Impressionism
Period and a priceless
masterpiece. Manet was
trained in the ‘officially-
accepted’ artistic mode, he
was just not interested in
following it. This work is a
DELIBERATE break with
accepted tradition.
Many works are initially disliked and are later
appreciated. The Vietnam Memorial in Washington,
DC is an excellent example.
Memorial in Vienna, by
Rachel Whitehead,
2000. This solid
concrete block--
depicting thousands of
volumes with the spines
turned in so we can’t
even see the titles. No
idea WHAT we lost in
this horrific historical
event
To present the everyday events of daily life.
To transform the way we see the natural world:
through magnificent vistas...
...or incredibly tight details or the natural world.
Transformation of the
natural world.
Interaction with the natural world ~ cyclical
change
To transform the ordinary.
Interesting statement
of Eastern vs
Western medicine.
Transformation of space
into sculpture. What is
more ordinary than
empty space?
Artist used a home in a neighborhood being
demolished as a concrete mold. Result is a permanent
record of the space within a home tht no longer exists.
Masters of transforming
the natural world and the
everyday--Jean-Claude
and Christo changed the
way we viewed places we
interact with on a daily
basis.
WATCH VIDEO -- Realized projects
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z
057rxwJXPo)
Much art is still functional and
conveys data while being
beautiful.
This lovely table is not just a nice decorator piece. It is drilled with 32,292
holes, the number of points Michael Jordan scored in his NBA career.
But does art HAVE to be
beautiful?
No.
Art represents
life, all aspects of
life. As there is
great variety in
what
experiences we
have in the
human condition,
there must be
great variety in
the images we
create.
Some images are hideous in
appearance, but hold beautiful
implications or meaning to
those who understand the
language that is being used.
Some art was considered
quite unattractive in its
own day--this work was
sharply criticized as being
poorly done--but is now
viewed as a masterpiece.
As ‘ugly’ as it was
considered to be, this
painting sparked an
entirely new direction in
artistic expression.