A HUMAN PHENOMENON {Arti strictly a human phenomenon. Only human beings make art to better understand lf or to communicate ‘emotions or ideas to others. 1 Porchof the Carytid, Erechtheum, Acropolis, Athens Greece, ¢2.421-405 BCE, PREVIEW ‘This chapter explores the often-asked question, “What is art?" No single definition of art absolutely applies for all times and places. General visual medium that expres experience and the world around us, Artengages our attention in @ way that our everyday environment cannot however, at isa primarily is about our human Itcontinues by exploring th ofart making, which allows u jotentials and parameters originate something or tocause some abject to come into being. In some cultures, art making is tied to artistie expression and innovation, whereas in others, following precedents is essential Lastly, cultural aesthetic systems and art categori xl their own are diseussed. Various cultures have devel categories and aesthetic norms that identify in detail what art i for them. In the United States today, groupings are !fine art, popular culture, craft, or style. Other ‘made aro categories are possible, such as place af origin or thematic content.TOWARD A DEFINITION OF ART ‘No definitions are universal, timeless, and absolute. All definitions are framed within a culture's systems of know!- edge, and these systems shift and evolve. Therefore, to answer the question “What is art?” we would have to ‘ask: What is art for whom and when? Tt was not the same for the Mayans in Mexico in the 1400s as it was in the ancient Greek city of Athens, exemplified by the Porch of the Caryatids (Fig. 11). For the United States at the begin- ning of the twenty-first century, a good definition of art ‘would be this: Art sa primarily visual medium that is used 10 express ideas about our human experience and the world around us. This definition holds true for many other cul- tures and periods, but not for all ‘A few decades ago, a definition of art circulated in the United States, saying in effect that art is whatever the art- ist says is art, There is some truth in this, as artists often have taken the lead in defining new art forms long before society accepted them. However, when we view the long. history of art, we see the greater truth to this definition: Art is whatever a society or a culture says is art. What does ‘this mean? Basically, the definition of art is not universal and fixed in all its details, as we saw earlier. It fluctuates, because cultures are alive and changing, ‘To gota better idea of what artis for a specific culture, ‘we will center our inquiry on four major areas: function, visual form, content, and aesthetics. Function Artfunctions. Atthetimeaworkofartis made, itisintended to doa job within a culture, as in the following examples: ‘= Artassists usin rituals that promote our spiritual or physical well-being, = Artreflects customs related to food, shelter, and. human reproduction, Art communicates thoughts, ideas, and emotions. Art gives us pictures of deities, or helps us conceive of ‘what divinity might be. = Art serves and/or commemorates the dead, Art glorifies the power ofthe state and its rulers. = Artcelebrates warand conquest, and sometimes peace. = Artisameans for protesting politieal and social injustice. = Art promotes cohesion within a social group. = Art records the likenesses of individuals and their environment, = Art educates us about ourselves and the world around us. = Artentertains. APTER ONE Auman Phenomenon Of course, music, dance, or literature does similar things, as do other fields of human endeavor. But one way tomeasure whether a work of artis “good” is to determine its intended function, and then see how wel it succeeds. ‘Art also can funetion as cultural records that can tell us about existing and past cultures: how they were struc tured, what they valued, what was considered ideal, what roles men and women had, and so on. Let us start with two seulptures with similar functions in their original cultures, which was to symbolize and strengthen the power of a ruler, Figure 1.2 is from Nigeria, Veranda Post: Female Caryatid and Equestrian Figure, carved before 1938 by Olowe of Ise, This carved column supported a courtyard roof in a local king’s palace among the Yoruba, a people in West Central Africa. To visually reinforce the king's power, he sits ona small horse holding pistol and spear, at the top ofa vertical stack supported by asmaller figure (caryatid) below. Equestrian sculptures like this among the Yoruba are symbols of regional author- ity, fora ruler who can conquer with power and strength. Figure 1 is another sculpture intended to assert authority, In the Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, from the Roman Empire around 175 CE, the emperor sits ‘atop a striding horse, and perhaps a now-lost enemy cow- ‘ered beneath the raised hoof, Amongthe Romans, this type of sculpture was the ultimate symbol of imperial dignity and power. The godlike Marcus Aurelius is oversized com- pared to the horse, and his lack of armor and outstretched, hand may refer to the fact that he wasa philosopher as well as emperor Both of these sculptures are now in museums, where their function is no longer to assert the authority of those rulers, Rather, today, the function of these sculptures is to educate the general public aboutother cultures, to provide visual pleasure, and to entertain. Scholars also study these works, gleaning considerable information about the his- torical moments from which they come. From Chapter 6 onward, we will study the funetions of hundreds of artworks in greater depth. Visual Form ‘Art has visual form, which allows the work to be seen or touched, and its ideas to be communicated. The subtleties of visual form are what make nuances of meaning possible. ‘Visual form includes: = Formal elements, such as line, shape, color, texture, ‘mass, volume, space, and so on ‘© Overall composition (which isthe arrangement of those formal elements), its size, its internal balance, and so on, = Materials from which the artwork is made112 Ovovs or Ise. Veranda Post: Pemale Caryatid and i Figure, Yoruba, before 1938, Wood, pigment, 71" high Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York US Bgucstrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius, Rome, 175 CE. Bronze, approx. 1 6 high. Musei Capitolini, Rome. Visual form is carefully considered and manipulated in an artwork, both to help it better fulfil its function and to enhance its visual appeal. Looking at the formal ele ments and composition of the Veranda Post, itis evident that horizontal elements are minimized, while verticality emphasizes the authority of the king on top. Olowe of Ise, the most famous Yoruban master sculptor of his time, was known for his inventive visual forms, which he enhanced with deeply carved surface details, The inventive forms and rich details make this artwork even more appropriate to represent a powerful leader Materials are significant as well. The Equestrian Statue of Mareus Aurelius is hollow-cast bronze, acostly material sculpted using a difficult process, Because of the strength of bronze, this statue can be more than eleven feet high, have amazing surface detail, and be supported on three horse legs. Bronze allowed the statue to survive for nearly ‘TowardaDefnitionof Art 52,000 years, much of it outdoors, The very material of bronze is essential in this truly royal portrait, Every work of art has visual form, which we will study throughout the book, In addition, visual form is, discussed in depth in Chapter 2, The and Architecture, Art materials are studied in Chapter 3, Media, Language of Art Content Arthas content, which is the mass of ideas associated with ‘each artwork and communicated through the following: ‘The art's imagery Itssymbolic meaning Its surroundings where it is used or displayed ‘The customs, beliefs, and values of the culture that uses it ‘Writings that help explain the work Contentcanbothbeimmediatelyapparent and require considerable study. Just by looking at Sandro Botticelli’s Birth of Venus (Fig. 14), from 1482, and Pablo Picasso's 1907 painting, Les Demoiselles ‘Avignon (Fig. 1.5), you see immediately that both are paintings with multiple figures in the composition, and female nudity isat least part ofthe subject matter, Venus is painted in a more realistic, tradi onal style. The blocky, simplified Demoiselles app 1.4 Sanpno Borriceis The Birth of Venus, aly, e482, Temperacn canvas, approx.5'8" x9" Galleria deg Ui Florence. be more modern and less interested in popular ideas of beauty, Both artworks seem balanced side to side, with a figure in the middle, However, much content is not readily apparent and requires deeper study. The Birth of Venus celebrates an ancient Greek myth and glorifies the beauty of the human, body, in this case, female. When it was painted in 1482, it reflected the ideals of the early Italian Renaissance, but its depiction ofa pagan deity was at odds with the Catholic, Church at that time. Les Demoisellesd’Avignonoriginally was tobeabrothel scene of prostitutes with their male customers, Picasso ‘made radieal changes in progress, ending with an image of intertwined figures and space that began an art movement known as Cubism. Three faces were influenced by African, ‘masks, like the Ceremonial Mask known as a Mboom or Bwoom, from Kuba, Booshong culture of Central Zaire, from the nineteenth to twentieth centuries (Fig. .6). The painting reflects n artworks like the Mask were being brought to through colonial trade, and they dramatically influenced, = cultural moment, because Afri‘Western art, Also indicative ofits time was Picasso's blend ing of figure and space, which echoes the theories of sei entists like Albert Einstein on the fundamental nature of matter, energy, and space. Likewise, the Ceremonial Mask known as a Mboom or Bwoom has its own obvious and hidden content. Clearly, it is a decorated helmet mask, made of wood, beads, shells, and pieces of cloth. Less apparent is the fact that it was originally used in African masquerades, traditional celebrations that blended dance, art, song, and ritual. Masquerades are reenactments of creation events, spirit works, and ancestor stories that are important to the mask represented «d his authority (see African people who stage them. TI the people over whom a King asser Fig. 1.1), For more on how meaning is embodied in art, read Chapter 4, Deriving Meaning. 1U6 Ceremonial Mask known as. Mboom or Bwoom, Kubo, Central Zaire, 19th-20th centuries, Wood, beads, shell cloth, Head-sived Museum of Central Africa, Tereuren. 1S Panto Picasso. Lee Demoiselle Avignon France, 1907, Oil on canvas, 8°78". The Museums Modern Art, New York ‘TowardaDefnitiouof rt 7Aesthetics Artis an aesthetic experience. Aesthetics isthe branch of philosophy that deals with art, its sourees, its forms, and its effects on individuals and cultures. Writings on aes- theties date back to the ancient Greeks. Thinkers from India, Japan, China, and Western cultures have written for centuries about aesthetic issues. In several African, COceanie, and Native American cultures, art practice dem- onstrated a clear aesthetic long before there was written ‘material about it. You are thinking aesthetically when you read a book like this one. Aesthetics goes beyond individ- ual tastes or preferences. Aesthetics is a critical reflection on art within a culture and reflects the preferences of a large segment of the culture's population, In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in the West, aesthetics focused on the idea of beauty, and the standard for beauty was ancient Greek sculpture, such as the Porch of the Caryatids on the Erechtheum (Fig. 1. This approach led to the notion that aestheties was essen- tially about beauty and that beauty could he universally defined for all times and places. That universalist position Is discredited now, because there is no worldwide agre ment about what constitutes beauty and because philoso- phers today consider many qualities other than beauty as, significant attributes of ar. CREATING ART Perception, Response, and Expression The visual perception that is required for making or looking at artis focused and concentrated. Most of our everyday visual experience isdisorganized and not memorable. With art, however, the artist carefully places colors and shapes, not simply to copy our everyday environment, much of which we ignore. Rather, artis designed to be arresting, to engage our attention, to make us look and to be aware of ouractoflooking, and potentially to be enriched asa result. That gift of engaged vision, in contrast to our everyday inattentiveness, is one of the greatest benefits of art. All artwork reflects the artists’ response to the world, specifically, their point of view, values, and individual experiences, Many artists also make work that responds to the art of others. Think ofthe thousands of flower pictures you have seen in your life, including paintings or photo- graphs, on calendars, wallpaper, wrapping paper, inoleum, fabric, and so on. Every one of those representations of flowers was based on the artist's or designer’s experience. Even though art is a response to the world, only some art is made “from life,” with the artists! subjects in front of them, Other works come from memory or 8 CHAPTER ONE A Human Phenomenon reflection. Figure 17 is a delicate seroll panting entitled Lotus Flowers and Ducks, rom thirteenth-century China Generally, traditional Chinese paintings were not made directly from life, because the Chinese believed memory and repeated experience allowed the artist to capture the broad essence of flowers rather than the specie details of one particularbloom. Clearly, art reflects humankind's perceptions of and responses to all aspects of spiritual life and earthly ie from birth to death and the hereafter, and of everything in between. Yet each artist or each culture might express these life experiences differently. Figures L.8 and 1.9 are two different expressions of spiritual traditions. The Zen ‘Stone Garden (Fig. 1.8, from 1185-1933, is located at the ‘U7 Lotus Flowers and Duck, China, ith century. Hanging srol Paint on silk, 0" x 20.7" Museum fuer Ostasiatische Kunst, Staatliche Museen 20 Berlin, Berlin jextthe. viaords118, above Zen Stone Garden, Japan, 92-1833, Kanak period. Datokuj Temp Kyota. Buddhist Daitokuji Temple and monaste complex in yoto, Japan. The Zen Stone Garden isa stil, dry landscape meant to aid quiet meditation, which Buddhists be! essential for spiritual growth. The white rocks can for the cosmic void, the emptiness of the mind, the flow of water, a journey, and so on, while the large, dark rocks represent material substances and worldly events. Figure 19 is a Gopura (or gateway) to the Sri Meenakshi Amman tand Temple at Madurai, India, a destination for thousands of pilgrims who attend the Hindu festivals there, This 150-foot-tall tower is covered with deities and attendants, so richly decorated and brightly painted that the surface almost seems to pulsate. This architecture embodies the Hindus’ colebration of the divine force that animates the abundant life forms on earth. Both the Zen Stone Garden and the Gopura seek to instill a sense of spiritual awareness, but how different ich is, Yet each represents its creators’ responses to the spiritual and natural worlds, as they experienced it 1.9, fet Gopura, Sri Meena Madura, Tamil Nadu, Indi, ‘Amman Temple, tsArtistic Creativity Creativity allovis us to originate something or to cause some object to come into being, What that means exactly can vary from culture to culture, In the United States today, creativityisoften thought tohave two essential ingredients. "The frst is innovation, or the making of something that is new. The second is self-expression, which tefers to individ- ual artists’ own styles and personal concepts of the world, all of which are embedded in their unique works of art However, innovation and artistic self-expression are not always necessary ingredients in creating artwork. For some great art, the artists followed formulas or copied other works, because their culture valued the re-ereation of old forms more than innovation. Also, some artists today devote their work to critiquing existing culture, rather than creating something new. Jaune Quicke-to-See Smith’s Genesis Fig. 1.10) con- sspects of innovation and self-expression, at the same time as she is re-creating old forms, On the expres- sive side, Smith has applied thick, gestural strokes of oil paint on top of a collaged layer of newspaper articles, photocopied images, and pieces of fabric. On the side of preserving old forms, in this case referring to Native American creation myths, she has incorporated native ‘symbols, sculptures, and lines from stories, slong with slorifying the buffalo, an animal with mythical standing She has blended traditional native imagery and mythology 30 CHAPTER ONE Asluman Phenomenon | _—_=_= re into late-twentieth-century art styles. To Smith, all her ‘works are inhabited landscapes, full of life, an essential native idea. CONNECTION In the owor-night corner of Genesis, Jaune Guiek-to: ‘See Smith has drawn an image of 00-year-old Notive American ceramic vessel called Mother and Nursing Chil (see Fig. 732) showing the importance of re-creating and preserving old forms. [Asevidentiin the discussion of Genests, creativity ean be a complex mix of old and new. Although psychologists have not fully identified the creative process in art making, some contemporary artists believe it begins with a formative stage, as an artist responds to a problem, a vivid experience, oracommission. This maybe followed by periods of intense research or experimentation. The making of the artwork ‘comes next, which may be quick or may take years. Picasso ‘worked fortwo months in 1907 on Les Demoiselles Avignon. 10 sane QuieK-To-Sex SMITH, Genesis, 1998. Oil, collage rized media on canvas, 5° #4", Museum of Art Atlanta‘The making of Gopura from Madurai undoubtedly took ‘much longer, even with the combined efforts of many erafts- men, In the case of performance art, often no art object is ‘made, but the artist initiates some actions, which are the art ‘One the work has been completed, or even while itis in process, artists critically assess their work. Other eri- tiques come from peers, curators, writers, academies, and the audience. Allof this feedback provides acertain degree of affirmation, Who is creative? Artists and designers are, but so are scientists, writers, researchers, and so on. Although ‘we think of creativity as residing in the individual, it has 1 social dimension as well. Support from others allows a person’s creativity to bloom. Creativity comes easily to children, but it must be nourished in adolescence, when negative social pressure and self-criticlsm can cause us to stifle what is part of our natural human heritage. CATEGORIES OF VISUAL ARTS ‘Some peoples, both past and present, have no word that corresponds to ours for art. For example, masquerades 1111 atashamboy Ckneeling) and Bwoom (Standing) maskersin a royal ceremony among the Kuba. Late 20th century Democratic Republic of Congo. in sub-Saharan Africa blur the boundaries between areas that Western cultures might consider very distinct, such fas art, ritual, and social cohesion. In Figure 1.11, mas queraders are performing in the court of the Kuba king. ‘Their masks and roles re-create archetypes that deal \with the beginnings of the Kuba people, the rights of the king, and basic social values for young men, The standing performer to the right is wearing a mask similar to the _Mboom or Ewoom Mask in Figure 1.6. Another example of different categories for art comes from the Japanese, who did not necessarily think of paintings as fine art until the late nineteenth century, when the concept of art history \was exported from the West along with the idea of paint- ing as fine art. The Japanese also value flower arranging and traditional puppetry as higher art forms than do Western cultures. ‘CONNECTION For more on Japanese Bunraku puppetry, 00 Fig. 1520. In the United States today, we are inundated with images and visual objects. They surround us in galleri ‘and museums and are everywhere in mass media and in stores, Some of these images are considered art, but oth cersare called popular culture. Crafts sometimes are distin: {guished from art, The following section includes some of the groupings made in the United States today for visual objects. Categories Visual Arle 11Fine Art Fine art is a Western category of refined objects consic: ered to be among the supreme cultural achievements of the human race. Fine art is believed to transcend average human works and may be produced by only the best art- ists with unique sensibilities, To be appreciated, fine art requires sensitivity on the part ofits audience. One defini- tion of fine artis simply that itis what is displayed in art CONNECTION For more on the development of museums in general and art museums in particular, see Chapter 5, Making Art, Using Art, and Preserving Art ‘The category of fine art has always been evolving, Itis different now from what it was before 1800 or so: ‘highbrow and “lowbrow” Shakespeare appesled to lower class sudiences; and were hoth popular the same can be sad of most stage literature, of music (ineluding grand opera), and ofthe visual arts, Norms now taken for granted did not exist; audiences were not emurely appreciative but highly demonstrative ‘Relatively litte was sacred (Wallach 1998: 14) Since 1800, we can see that what was considered art in the United States has changed radically. Fine art ONE A Human Phenomenon included painting, sculpture, and architecture in the early and mid-nineteenth century in Western industrialized nations, It was heavily influenced by Greek, Roman, and Italian Renaissance art, mostly sculpture, like the Porch of the Caryatids, which is our chapter opener. That Greely Roman: nspired model of fine art was so pervasive that when Théodore Géricault painted The Raft of the Medusa (Fig. 112) crities were horrified, because it was too realis- tic, too likelife, not transeendent of the moment, and not enough like “art” The painting, which shows starving sur- vivorsofashipwreckjustastheyarebeingrescued, created hhuge sensations wherever it was displayed, and it caused political turmoil, because it dramatized a shipwreck that ‘was caused in part by its incompetent eaptain, who. political appointee. Looking at the painting today, it may ‘be hard to imagine that some critics thought it was not art ‘Another major shift in the category of fine art occurred at the beginning of the twentieth century, Contemporary painting became very important, and artists like Paul Cezanne broke conventions in the ways that space and form are depicted. Landseapeat Aix, Mount Sainte-Victoire 12 TksovonE Génicavcr. The Raftofthe Medusa 1819. 010n canvas, 16 1" <24' 1", Louvre, Paris,(Fig. 1.19), from 1905, is a fractured, disjointed represei tation of a scene, By the mid-twentieth-century, avant= garde art had broken away from representation at all, The critic Clement Greenberg defined avant-garde art as “art for art's sake" and “pure poetry.” He stated: “The avant- {garde poet or artist tries in effect to imitate God by ereat- ingsomethingvalid solely onitsown terms, in the way that nature itself is valid, ... [A] work of art or literature can- not be reduced in whole or in part to anything not itself (Greenberg 1939:5-6). In recent years, fine art as a entegory has expanded to include film, photography, prints, and, most recently, installation, performance, video, and computer art. In addition, definitions of fine art are in flux when Western people look at art from other cultures. In 1880, works like the Mboom or Bwoom Mask would not have been displayed in art museums in the United States or Europe, but they Popular Culture Popular culture in Western nations consists of magazines, comics, television shows, advertising, folk art, tattoos, customized cars, graffiti, video games, posters, websites, calendars, greeting cards, dolls, souvenirs, toys, movies 13. Pave Cezanne. Landscape at Aix, Mount Suinte-Vietotre, 1905, Oil on ' X 261/¢" Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow Gs opposed to film or cinema), and snapshots and com= mercial photography (as opposed to fine photography). Popular art is often perceived as being more accessible, inexpensive, entertaining, commercial, political, naive, or colorful than finer. Fine arts and popular culture can be seen as part of @ ccontintnim that contains much of the visual imagery that Western culture produces. Popular culture images and abjeets may share many attributes of high art, The workis often highly creative, innovative, and expressive. Itshares the same attributes of function, visual form, and content. Ttreflects the values and structures of our social systems, political hierarchies, and religious beliefs. Popular cul ture is studied in many academic areas, including visual philosophy, and anthropology. Som culture, art history become" art objects from popular culture eventually for example, popular prints like Las bravisimas calaveras guatemaltecas de Mora y de Morates, by José Guadalupe cuoriesofVisual Ants 18Posada (Pig, 1.14). Now carefully preserved in a unive library, this print was originally inexpensive and widely distributed like an editorial cartoon, with large, running skeletons (calaveras) that represent two assassins who brought death and chaos to Guatemala, Some artists want to occupy the space between high art and popular culture. For example, Tan Tan Bo, from 2001 (Fig. 1.15), is by the contemporary Japanese artist Takashi Murakami, who produces paintings, designer ‘handbags, and installations of large-scale inflatable art, ‘enormous Mylar helium balloons. His work is a blend of US. and Japanese fine art, popular culture, and animé (contemporary Japanese animation), and always reflects self-conscious consumerism, Murakami also sells multiple- edition prints of works on paper and canvas through gal- leries and on artnet.com, 144 José GuapatuPe Posapa. Las bravisimas ‘alaveras guatemaltecas de Mora de Morales, 1007 Pictorial broadside verse fall sheet, printed reto and verso lavender papers Zine etching. University of New Mexico. 1€ CHAPTER ONE AJuman Phenomenon AA subeategory of popular culture, called kitsch, is by comparison shallow or pretentious, or overly calculated tobe popular. Objects or images are kitsch if they display an emotional appeal that is generalized, superficial, and sentimental, Unlike the best of fine art or popular culture, kitsch does not provide an original experience, a uniquely felt emotion, or a thoughtful, introspective moment. The ‘Smithsonian Institution's 150th Anniversary Float in the Rose Parade (Fig, 1.16), with its collection of images from astronauts to the first airplane to pandas to butterflies to baseball, is meant to appeal to all and offend none. The ‘museum buildings appear diminutive and cute, and not likea site of serious researeh. Like all other categories of visual art, the ideaofkitsch isevolvingand changing, Crities suchas Susan Sontaghave reclaimed somekitsch as “camp,” which means that objects,US, top TAKASIEI MURAKAMI Tan Tan Bo, 2001. Aerglicon canvas mounted on board 1°9” % 18° (panels) Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, 116, bottr Pasadena, The Smithsonian Istitution’s 150th Anniversary Flot inthe 1996 Rose Parade in Categories of Visual Arts 1517 Tat Hawxixs0n. Bear, 2005.23! Collection, University of California, high, 370.000 bs. Stuart in Diego. and images of such extreme artifice (and often banality) have a perverse sophisticated and aesthetic appeal, and that they revealed “another kind of truth about the human. situation” (Sontag 1966: 287). Other artists incorporate and transform sentimental or cute items in their work. {The artist Tim Hawkinson, who Is known for his inven- tive, humorous, or fantastic art, created the nearly 200- ton stone Bear (Fig. 1.17), across between a teddy bear and Stonehenge. There is an interesting association between the surfaces of a soft, fuzzy childhood companion and the rounded, weathered surfaces of ancient stones. CONNECTION stonehenge contains Circles of ancient, enormous boulders [presumably set up for agricultural rituals, nds located in southern England. See Figure 826, 1 CHAPTER ONE A Human Phenomenon 148 Gheordez Prayer Fug, Turkey, 28th century. White mihrsb (prayer niche) with two Turkish floral columns. Wool, height 65°/, wth 48°/4", Museum fuer Angewandte Kunst, Vienna, Austria, erage etarehe of on ec Craft Craft refers to specific media, including ceramics, glass, jewelry, weaving, and woodworking, Craft usually involves ‘making objects rather than images, although craft may involve surface decoration. Often, craft objects have a utilitarian purpose or perhaps evolved from a utilitarian origin, In addition, however, they display aesthetic and/or conceptual dimensions that go beyond mundane use. Like the distinetion between fine art and popular culture, the art/craft distinetion is culturally specific and in lux. ‘The Gheordes Prayer Rug (Fig, 1.18), from eighteenth- century Turkey, isa good example of an object that might be categorized ascraftorart. Like other woven objects, itis craft, but its aesthetic qualities and ritualistic uses carry it beyond utilitarian function. The intricate pattern echoes tile work in mosques, and the white niche in the center islike a mihrab, an architectural feature in 2 mosque that ‘marks the direction of Mecea, Stylistic Categories Style is the manner of artistic expression characteristic either of an individual artist, of a historic period, or of an entire civilization. Soa rose might be arose, but the styles of representation of it are not the same. Before looking at artists’ or cultures’ styles, itis helpful to have a basic vocabulary describing stylistic attributes. Style Vocabulary ‘Art that is naturalistic generally contains recognizable imagery that is depicted very much as seen in nature. Mary Cassatt’s Mother and Child (Pig. 1.19), from 1897, is rendered in a naturalistic style, From repeated and long observation, Cassatt was able to capture the intense attachment a mother may feel toward her child, This work 139. Many Cassa astelon paper, 20” 17} Paris, France Mother and Child, 1897, Musée d'Orsay, Ths arworkis representational n style the appearance of tings inthe nacural world is also representational, as it contains entities from the ‘world in recognizable form. In idealized art, natural imagery is modified in a way ‘that strives for perfection within the bounds of the values andaestheties ofaparticular culture. The Veranda Post Fig, 1.2) and the Equestrian Statue of Mareus Aurelius (Fig. 18) are both rendered in idealized styles, yet they are quite dif ferent because each culture had its own definition of ideal, In African figurative sculpture, itis common to see over- sized heads in idealized imagery (the figure isoften divided into thirds: one-third is the head, and the other two-thirds are body and legs), Marcus Aurelius’ large size and digni- fied gestures are ingredients for an idealized image. Expressive or expressionist styles of art communi- cate heightened emotions and often a sense of urgency or spontaneity. Expressive styles frequently appear bold and. immediate, rather than carefully considered or refined. ‘They often feature distorted or abstracted imagery and may appear asymmetzical or off balance. Textured sur- {aces and thick paint application signal an expressive style. Categories ofVisnal rts 171.20 Wassity KaNpINsky. Jngster Tag Gast Judgmend) 1912. ‘Underglass painting with ink and color, 131/<" 17'/s" Musée National rt Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Pars. ‘Wassily Kandinsky’s Jingster Tag (Fig. 1.20), from 1912,is aan example of expressionist painting, as seen in the bold. colors, strong contrasts from black to white, vigorous line and exploding, fragmented forms. ‘The term elassieal has several related meanings in reference to style. It can refer to art that is orderly, bal- anced, clear, and well proportioned vertically and horizon- tally, like The Birth of Venus (Fig. 14) seen earlier in this chapter, In this sense, classical is the opposite of expres sive. Classical also describes a point in the evolution of styles: classical works represent the full development of certain style, in contrast to its early formative stage or its Inte transformation into another style. When written with ‘capital C, Classical refers specifically to the art made in ancient Greece in the fifth century BCE. Figure 1.1, Poreh of the Caryatids, is an example of Classical Greek art 38 CHAPTER ONE A Human Pherome Surreal refers to art with a bizarre or fantastic arrangement of images or materials, as if tapping into the ‘workings of the unconscious mind. Meret Oppenheim's Object (Fig. 1.21) is a fur-lined cup, which mixes and thus undermines the pleasures of two senses in a dreamlike ‘way. The far is sensual to touch, but miserable to taste ‘even though the cup shouldbe delivering taste treats tothe tongue. The title in French means Luncheon in Fur, which could refer to luxury or even sexuality, and yet humor is also a prominent part ofthe piece. Nonobjective (nonrepresentational) imagery that is completely generated by the artist. Frank Stella's Abra IIT Fig, 1.22), 1968, focuses on the interrela tion between colors and shapes, and nothing else beyond \whata person sees while looking atthe painting ‘The term “abstract art” is often used to mean the same art contains thing as “nonobjective,” but there is an important distinc tion. Abstracted imagery may or may not be recognizable Dut it has been derived from reality by distorting, enlar ing, and/or dissecting objects or figures from nature, Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon (Fi example from earlier in this chapter of abstracted imagery, 15) is anbut it is still representational in the sense that the imag. cry is recognizable and taken from the world around us, Kandinsky’s Jingster Tag (Fig. 1.20) is more abstract than Demoiselles Cultural Styles Acultural style consists of recurring and distinctive fer- tures that we see in many works of art emanating from a particular place and era, Stylistic traits help us identify ‘works from ancient Egypt, for example, and see them as, 1.21, above MenET OpPENMEIM. Object (Le Doe 1986, Purccovered cup, saucer, and spoon. Cup, 4 saucer, 9°/ ameter, spoon, 8" long: overall hei ‘Museum of Modern Art, New York. ren furrur) 1.22, fet Fua Strata. Abra IT, 1968, Aerylic on eats, 10" 10°, Collection ofthe urtist. New York make the art of ancient Egypt readily distinguishable from the art of, say, seventeenth-century France, Cultural styles reflect and express the cultures from which they come, Along with language, religion, and social customs, the styles of art and architecture form a culture's identity. A few definitions are helpful here. Culture can mean the totality ofdeas, customs, skills, and arts that belongto ‘people or group. This cultural totality is communicated for passed slong to succeeding generations. A culture may also be a particular people or group, with their own ideas, customs, and arts. A civilization is a highly struc~ tured society, with a written language or a very developed system of communication, organized government, and advances in the arts and sciences. A country and a people ‘with a high degree of social and cultural development can also be ealled a civilization, So, when referring to ancient Egypt, we may call ita civ: lization, as itwasastructured society with government, writ ‘ten language, and thearts and sciences. We may also refer to Eqyptian culture—that is, its collective ideas, customs, and Categories of VisualArte 18beliefs, and the articles of art that it produced. Most impor tant here is our ability to distinguish the Egyptian style of art, as one representation ofits cultural identity Cultural styles are recoignizable across a broad spec trum of art objects created by a people. These art objects share content and many formal qualities. For example, mn of King LoulsX1V of France, the court style, which was ornateand lavish, could be seen in everything from architecture to painting, far during the seventeenth-century re niture design, and clothing (see Fig. 5). Even hairstyles were affected, Men and women wore enormous, elaborate powdered wigs as they attended court events in fabulously decorated halls. Some hairstyles apparently even had jew. led model ships “Rosting” among the curls and waves, You can see broad cultural styles around you today. What qualities do you see shared by contemporary art, popular ‘music, and the latest ads for clothing? On the apparent when studyinga particularart form that appears other hand, different cultural styles become across the globe. For examples, Islamic mosques are built around the world to provide a place for Muslims to con: ‘grogate and pray together. Local solutions are different from each other, as we can see with the Grand Mosque at Djenne, in Mali, Afriea (Fig. 1.28) and the Badshahi 124), Both are impos- ing, dramatic buildings with towers, yet each design is Mosque in Lahore, Pakistan (F influenced by its cultural preferences and by locally avail ble building materials. Cultural styles are not static but evolve as a result of many circumstances, 8 as changes in religion, histori cal events such through century, European art since the 1400s emphasized the war, and contact with other cultures trade or colonization, Before the twentieth oF Classical Fig. 1.4) of Europe changed profoundly African influences, which is especially apparent in works like Picasso’ human form in a naturalistic, idealized, Greck-inspired manner, like The Birth of Venus We already saw that the ar Les Demoiselles WAvignon (Fig. 1.5) Artists’ Styles Style can also refer to the distinguishing characteristics ofon personal styles, like the artist Vincent van Gogh, who is famous for his expressive paintings rendered in thick paint ‘with broad areas of strong colors. Using palette knife, he artist's work. Individual artists can develop unique, 4123 Grund Mosque. 1906-1907. Djenne, Mal(CeArlesienne), 1889. Oilon canvas 22 V2" X19 Ys". Galera Nazionale Arte Moderna, Rome, applied his paint quickly, and he frequently defined forms with bold lines around and through them, His unique ly distinguished from other European paint- ers, can be 8 ly in his Portrait of Mme. Ginoux (Arlesienne) (Fig. 1.25) from 1889, Nevertheless, van Gogh's unique style shares attri- artists of his time, including Tmpres- style, rea Dutes with othe sionists such as Claude Monet (see Fig, 14.14) and Post-Impressionists such as Geonges Seurat (see Fig. 13.29), Paul Cezanne (Fig. 1.13), or Paul Gauguin (Fig, 1.26). All of these artists applied paint in a direct, bold manner. They often chose subject matter from everyday life. They usually painted in oil and used bright-colored, thick paint (Called impasto), rather than thin washes of subdued color van Gogh were close Paul Gauguin and Vince! associated for « while, sharing lodgings and painting 1.24 Radshahi Mosque, main 1674. Lahore Pakistan. Categories of Visual Arts 21‘together, as evident in Gauguin's Woman in a Coffeehouse, “Madame Ginoux in the Cafe de la Gare in Arles (Fig. 1.26). Each painting has shared and unique qualities, Note the similarity in Madame Ginoux’s pose, but the differences in her attitude, in the overall scene, and in the color choices Some artists seek to develop their own styles and some do not. In twentieth-century US. and European art, innovation and unique personal style often were marks of artistic value. This has changed somewhat in the last few decades, as more US. and European artists have cre- ated work in collaborations or even incorporated copies of other images, so that a unique, individual style no longer necessarily denotes quality, In some cultures, copying a venerable artwork is valued more than producing a new, unique object. For example, ancient Egyptian artists had a distinet style of rendering figures that was so well established and effec~ tive for their culture that very little change occurred in it over thousands of years. It was more important for the Egyptian artists to follow canons of representation than to invent new imagery or new ways to depict it. We see similar attitudes in some Chinese landscape paint ings and in medieval Europe, where new religious man: scripts were carefully copied from old manuscripts. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, Native from the Pacifle Northwest also cop- ied old forms that had meaning for their people, while investing new spirit and vigor in them. And Jaune Quick- to-See Smith's Genesis (Fig, 110) has Native American myths and old art forms featured in a contemporary painting. American arti 1.26 Pavt.Gavovin. Woman ina cffechouse Madame Ginoux inthe Cafe de la Gare in Artes, 1888, Oilon canvas, 283)" <26'/s'. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow, Note the similares an cferences between 22. CHAPTER ONE Auman Phenomenon — ‘ CONNECTION Tociay, Native American sculptors of the Pacific Northwest continue to.make works that share traits of traditional carvings like Arthur Shauahnessy's interior House Post (Fig. 1315) Other Categories ‘There are other ways to categorize art. Disciplines such as drawing, photography, or sculpture may be grouped as separate categories, Some cultures have art forms that do not translate divectly into Western categories, such as Japan's ancient puppet theater (Fig, 15.20) or the mas- ‘querade in Africa (Fig. 1D. We will see all of these forms ‘again in subsequent chapters. Chronological eategories follow a cultural style as it develops through the years, like “a history of Renaissance Art? or “a survey of art from the Middle Ages.” A geo- ‘graphic approach studies the art from a particular area, usually also in chronological order, for example, “the artof Africa” or “the art of the American West.” Yet another approach is thematic, in which a group of fundamental ideas forms the basis for discussing art from many different cultures. Thisbook is organized in that way, ‘with Chapters 6 through 15 looking at art associated with human survival, political systems, religion, and our bodies, culture, and relationship to nature and technology. Other divisions are possible. All observers of art could create their own categories for grouping artworks, and ‘these areas can vary according to preference. You are part ofa living, growing culture, and the final word has not been. written about it,