18. The Origins of Art
• To construct meaningful images and forms
– Magic, Spirituality, Ceremony, Ritual
– Record history
• To create order and structure
– A desire to make sense of the world
– The urge to paint and pile rocks
• To explore aesthetic possibilities
– The desire to make something beautiful
25. THE ROLE OF THE ARTIST
• The artist records and commemorates: historical
reference, captures a moment
• The artist creates places for some human purpose: ritual,
remembrance, bringing the community together
• The artist gives tangible form to the unknown: things we
don’t see… to the unknown, to the unseen, to the future
• The artist gives feelings and ideas tangible form: using
their own perspective and the viewer’s response
• The artist offers an innovative way of seeing: a visual way
to compare and contrast differing perspectives
• The artist creates extraordinary versions of ordinary
objects: exploring aesthetics of the material, makes a
functional item into a nonfunctional artwork
37. Terms to know:
• Aesthetics – branch of philosophy concerned with
feelings aroused in us by sensory experiences
such as seeing and hearing (your particular taste,
what appeals to you)
• Artist Intent – the decision to use certain artistic
devices to create a specific look, feeling or
content
• Perception - The process of becoming aware
through sight, sound, taste, smell, or touch;
detection
38. The romantic definition of art:
• Art is created in search of an ultimate truth,
an ultimate perfection, an ultimate
confrontation with the self and the art.
• True fine art has the primary motive of artist
expression & the secondary motive of money.
• Art has 2 intentions:
– Satisfying the artist
– Satisfying the patron
39. My personal definition of ART:
• The “art world” tells us what art is.
– In other words: if a piece is displayed in a gallery
or an image of it is published in a magazine or if it
is critiqued by professionals, it is art.
52. Blurring the lines between
high brow and low brow art:
• High art
– Painting
– Sculpture
– Fine photography
• Low art
– Pottery
– Comic books
– Advertisements
54. avant-garde
• Artists and their work which stand in the
forefront of a movement or of new ideas,
often in opposition to established ideas and
traditions; art that's ahead of its time,
innovative, experimental.
55. Marcel Duchamp
The Fountain, 1917
He is considered
part of the Dada
movement.
Duchamp changed
art for the 20th
century.
101. STYLE
• Characteristics that we recognize as constant,
recurring or coherent to an individual artist’s
work.
• Pieces will have traits in common
– Drawing style
– Brush stroke
– color
102.
103.
104.
105.
106.
107.
108.
109.
110.
111.
112.
113.
114.
115. General styles
• Constructed after the fact as scholars discern
broad trends
– Cultural – Atzec, Egyptian
– Period – Gothic, Victorian
– School styles – Impressionism, cubism
116.
117.
118.
119.
120. A Bar at the Folies-Bergere, 1882
Edouard Manet
122. The romantic definition of art:
• Art is created in search of an ultimate truth,
an ultimate perfection, an ultimate
confrontation with the self and the art.
• True fine art has the primary motive of artist
expression & the secondary motive of money.
• Art has 2 intentions:
– Satisfying the artist
– Satisfying the patron
123. My personal definition of ART:
• The “art world” tells us what art is.
– In other words: if a piece is displayed in a gallery
or an image of it is published in a magazine or if it
is critiqued by professionals, it is art.
124. 4 key terms related to meaning:
• Form
• Content
• Iconography
• Context
125. Art & Meaning
• FORM – the way art looks; size, shape,
materials, color, composition
• CONTENT – what the art is about;
subject matter
• The interaction between form and content
help us determine meaning
127. iconography
• The identification, description &
interpretation of subject matter in art
• Relates to the culture of the time
• To understand iconography of the past, we
often have to do research
132. CONTEXT
• Web of connections to the larger world of
human culture
– Relates to time & place
– Personal and/or social circumstances
– Why was the work made?
– Who sees the work?
– ALSO, the physical setting that the work is meant
to be seen in
159. Themes of Art
• Craft / Decor
• Sacred Realm / Religion
• Politics / Propaganda
• Social Order
• Storytelling / History
• Genre Art – images of daily life
• Human Experience / Self-Expression
• Invention & Fantasy
• Art & Nature / Landscape
• Art about Art
166. Ru Ware Bowl Stand, Chinese,
Early 12th Century
167.
168.
169. iconoclasm
• Iconoclasm means “image breaking”
• Began in the Byzantium Empire
– Early Christians debated the use of images
• Idol worship
• Arose again after Henry VIII broke from Rome
– The protestants claimed the Catholics practiced
idolatry, they destroyed many Catholic churches
and art across Britain
• Taliban – Islamic fundamentalism
177. Propaganda
• Propaganda is a form of communication aimed at
influencing the attitude of a community toward
some cause or position. As opposed to impartially
providing information, propaganda in its most
basic sense, presents information primarily to
influence an audience.
• Propaganda often presents facts selectively (thus
possibly lying by omission) to encourage a
particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to
produce an emotional rather than rational
response to the information presented.
• The desired result is a change of the attitude
toward the subject in the target audience to
further a political agenda.
211. Themes of Art
• Sacred Realm / Religion
• Politics / Propaganda
• Social Order
• Storytelling / History
• Human Experience / Self-Expression
• Invention & Fantasy
• Art & Nature / Landscape
• Art about Art
213. Grading Criteria - Presentations
• Proper length = 5 minutes
• Full bio/history
– Pic of artist
– Where did they go to school
– Influences/legacy
• Anecdotal info
• Plenty of images
• Presenters interest in the subject
• Seems informed/able to answer questions
• Proper sources cited
