ESCOSAR, Christian RV G. Sept.

13, 2020
CHE 102 Art Appreciation

ACTIVATE

Process Questions

a. Recall your favorite artwork as you were growing up

 My favorite artwork as I’m growing up is The Creation of Adam by Michelangelo

b. Can you describe your artwork in terms of

1.    Subject- The artwork is illustrating the Biblical creation narrative from the Book of Genesis
in which God gives life to Adam, the first man.

2.    Medium- The materials that is used to paint this artwork are different colors of paint and
plaster.

3.    Meaning- For me, the meaning of this painting is all about the love of God. As you can see
in the painting, the posture of God and Adam is different to each other. The direction of God’s
body is towards to Adam. You can also see that the tip of the fingers of God and Adam was
almost connected. That only means that God wanted to be connected with his creation, which is
Adam. By that, for me, it signifies the love of God.

ACQUIRE

Process questions:

a. What is the difference between representational and non-representational ark works?

 There is a difference between representational and non-representational artworks.

Representational art represents objects or events in the real world, usually looking
easily recognizable. In the other side, non-representational artworks are works
that does not depict anything from the real world or reality. Non-representational
art can depict shapes, colors, lines, etc., but may also show things that are not
visible such as emotions or feelings.
ESCOSAR, Christian RV G. Sept. 13, 2020
CHE 102 Art Appreciation

b. Give example for each?

 Representational Work – Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci

 Non-representational Work – Stairway to Heaven by Hela Zidovnik

c. How will you classify abstract works like the one below?

 For me, I see abstract works is messy kind of artwork but I cannot blame the people who
create this kind of artwork because it is the main goal or purpose of that artwork, to
distort the actual existing things of life, to depict reality. Abstract work can’t be created if
there are no actual things that can help the artist to create it. Just what Picasso said,
“There is no abstract art. You must always start with something. Afterward, you can
remove all traces of reality.”

Process Questions:

a. What are the similarities and differences between mimetic art and abstract art?

 Their similarity is that they are both reality-dependent artworks. The differences of the
two is that mimetic art, from the word itself “mimic”, is an artwork that really copies the
reality, or simply, a mirror-like artwork. The goal of it is to represent or to show what is
the appearance of the object or the nature. In the other side, abstract art, from the word
“abstract”, is an artwork that depicts the reality of something. It is an art that does not
attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a visual reality but instead use shapes,
colors, forms and gestural marks to achieve its effect.

b. Why is there a need to distort images like in abstract art?

 One of the purposes of distorting images, just like in abstract art, is to make a continuing
interest in the art lies. By that, it creates an ability to inspire our curiosity to go beyond
the reaches of our imagination and the potential for us to create something completely
unique in the world. As what Arshile Gorky said, “Abstraction allows man to see with
his mind what he cannot see physically with his eyes.”
ESCOSAR, Christian RV G. Sept. 13, 2020
CHE 102 Art Appreciation

c. Which among the contents in art speaks to you personally? 

 The nature of the subject. As what I’ve said before, I consider any artwork that has a
message or a story, an art. For me, the nature of the subject is the heart of any artwork
that has been created and will be created. As it is the driving force of an artist to create
such things.

Process Questions:

a. Can one level of meaning be regarded more important than the other?

 Well as I can read and see, all of them are important in unique ways. Therefore, there is
no need of regarding one level of meaning as a more important level than the others.

b. What do these levels of meaning represent?

 The level of meaning, in my opinion, is just a representation of how people see or specify
an art. Wherein, formal is where people allowed to look at any artwork from an objective
viewpoint, subject is where people can be grouped an artwork into specific genres, or
patterns of subject matter, context is where people considering the importance of
understanding the context in which art is made, and lastly, iconography is where people
thinks that art is a conveyance of deeper meanings through simple visualizations.

b. Which level of meaning is often misunderstood? Why?

 I think the level of meaning is often misunderstood is the Iconography. Well, some art
amateurs or common people exaggeratedly assumes the meaning of the artwork where in
technically, the message of an artwork is just simple. For example, if some people will
see that an artwork has a lot of color red in it, they will just say that the emotion of the
artwork is mad.
ESCOSAR, Christian RV G. Sept. 13, 2020
CHE 102 Art Appreciation

Show and Tell- Look for an art work in the internet and tell something about it in terms of

a. subject- type, nature and kind of subject

b. meaning- formal meaning, context, symbolic

Creation of Adam, 1508

Michelangelo Buonarroti

The mural painting known as The Creation of Adam is one of the series of biblical
images from the Book of Genesis commissioned by Pope Julius II of Michelangelo for the
ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, Rome. Seen as a significant work of the Renaissance
in Rome, its status as an emblem of Christian art is unrivaled, and some art historians believe it to
be the best pictorial work of Christianity. Originally, the nature of the frescoes of the Sistine
Chapel was limited to the Twelve Apostles, along with a few other decorative works. But as he
started his study, Michelangelo expanded the entire idea, and by the time he had finished his
study in October 1512, he painted more than 300 characters from the Book of Genesis and other
Old Testament narratives, as well as classical mythology. Given all this, the Sistine ceiling,
known as the Genesis Fresco, of which The Creation of Adam is the central work, is considered
to be the quintessential representation of Renaissance art and one of the finest Renaissance
paintings of the 15th and 16th centuries.
ESCOSAR, Christian RV G. Sept. 13, 2020
CHE 102 Art Appreciation

The key impression produced by this image is the connection between the spiritual
kinetic energy-illustrated in the illusionary movement of the Lord, which appears to radiate
action-and the human lassitude, represented by the aura of thoughtlessness of Adam. The
comparison is embodied in the almost overlapping fingertips of both hands, as the flame of
energy is passed to Adam. God's index finger is completely spread and energized; Adam's
fingertips are so limp that they can't even be outstretched. No picture better summarizes the
tangible and metaphysical chasm between God and Man.

Some claim, for example, that a dark shape-representing God's "breath of life"-is evident
in the space between God and Adam. Others say that the lines and forms around the image of
God are the exact structures of the human brain, of which the frontal lobe, the brain stem and the
pituitary gland are observable, along with other areas of the brain. Even some have suggested
that the red cloth that wraps God is in the form of a human uterus, while the green-colored scarf
at the edge is simply a freshly cut umbilical cord. Other claims include: the unclear identity of
the female character encircled by the left arm of the Almighty. One explanation is that she
portrays an unfulfilled Eve. The comparative outlines of Adam and God have often drawn
comments to the effect that, while God and his angel group construct an ellipse symbolizing the
celestial egg, whereas Adam is just an unfinished oval.