Introduction Lecture ART 100 BCTC

2. • Certain components of the lectures in Introduction to Art are interactive, please click and
review any links as you navigate the lecture. Each link will open up resources on the
internet.
• Each new page will give you prompts for how to use the internet resource
Example of an outside link

3. The Mona Lisa by: Leonardo da Vinci, 1503-1506
What is ART?
•There is NO concrete definition of visual art; it is
up to the viewer to decide. Art is subjective.
•Chances are you live with more art than you
think. Your home may be decorated with posters,
photographs, figurines or other objects you find
beautiful and meaningful (Getlein).
Aesthetics: is the branch of philosophy
concerned with the feelings aroused in us by
sensory experiences-experiences we have
through sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell.
Art is an aesthetic experience. (Getlein).

4. Mona Lisa at the Louvre in Paris, France
Take a moment to think about your
experience with art:
• Have you taken art class in high school?
• Do you have art hanging on the walls in your
home?
• Have you seen public art? Murals, graffiti,
statues?
• Chances are, you see art more then you
think!
• Most likely, you have seen this painting! See
it there, behind the huge crowd at the
Louvre in Paris, France. It is so popular that
it is hard to get a look! Unless…
What is ART?

5. …you are Beyonce & Jay-Z, they get a closer look!

6. Characteristics of Art
• To construct meaningful images and forms
• To create order and structure
• To explore Aesthetic possibilities
“These characteristics seem to be part of our nature as human
beings. From them, art has grown, nurture by each culture in its
own way”-Mark Getlein, Living with Art
What is ART?
Through the Flower, by: Judy Chicago, 1973

7. • Perception the recognition and interpretation of sensory
data-our subjective mind creates different perceptions
among different viewers of visual art.
• Artworks mean different things to different people due to
their life experiences, personal relations or visual
vocabulary.
Looking & Responding
• When looking at Jim Hodges’ Every Touch, silk flowers,
thread , 1997 (image right) the viewer may have a variety
of responses through asking and exploring associations
that bring their experience and knowledge to bear.
• One may think of spring, reference the art history of
vanitas, special occasions, artificial vs. nature or they may
simply analyze and examine the art work for its range of
colors and textures.

8. What makes Jackson Pollock’s Painting worth $162 Million?
No. 5, 1948 (pictured right).
Read this: Jackson Pollock Article
Start to think about how does one attach monetary value to a
work of art?
Risk Takers, Influencers & Innovators
How do we as a society find an artwork valuable or
important enough for a gallery or museum?
•The artist rejected tradition and created innovative art.
•Many artists were influenced or inspired by a particular artist.
•The artist was simply the first to do something.
•The artwork stands out from the norm due to subject matter
or innovative form and technique.

9. • Creativity is often used to describe attributes of
art .
• Creative tendencies often generate or recognize
ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be
useful in solving problems, communicating with
others and entertaining ourselves and others.
Creativity
• Tim Hawkinson’s installation Emoter, 2002 (above) utilizes
creativity by utilizing a variety of scientific methods to send
signals through a tangle of cords and wires to continuously
respond to signals that move the artist’s facial features.
Video audio is not needed

10. WHAT IS ART FOR?
Watch this simplified look at the function of art in society (video above).
After watching the video consider:
• Have you ever had an emotional response to art?
• How can art counterbalance our everyday challenges?
• Has viewing an artwork ever challenged your perception of the world?

11. Composition is the placement or arrangement of visual elements or ingredients
in a work of art. Composition is distinct from the subject of an artwork.
Composition
Swinging by: Vasily Kandinsky, Oil on board, 1925
Untitled, Hinke Schreuders, thread on vintage
photograph, 2013

12. Representational art represents the visible
world in such a way that we recognize a
likeness. For example, Pablo Picasso’s First
Communion, oil on canvas, 1895-96, (above)
is a representational painting.
Representational Art VS. Abstract Art
Abstract art uses the appearance of the world only as a starting point
and then alters that reality through exaggeration, contrast, erasure or
other creative approaches.. For example, Louise Bourgeois’ Spiral
Woman, fiber, 2000 (above) is an abstraction of a representational
human form.

13. Non Representational or Non
Objective art uses the elements
of art and principles of design
(line, shape, color, texture,
variety, repetition, etc.) to create
meaning rather then depicting or
abstracting reality.
Non Representational & Non Objective Art
Melodious by: Vasily Kandinsky
1924 (right) is considered a non-
objective work of art. The
painting’s composition is made
up of a variety of shapes, lines
and colors that are non-
representational.

14. Content: is what the work is about. For
representational and abstract works, content
begins with the object or events the artwork
depicts. For non-objective works content is
derived from the emotion or suggestion of
the arrangement of color, line, shape and
form.
Form, Subject Matter & Content
Subject Matter: are the objects, events or
feeling an artwork conveys to the viewer.
Form: is the way a work of art looks. It
includes all visual aspects of the work that
can be isolated and described, such as size,
shape, materials, color and composition.
AmEx Card’s
Form, Subject
Matter &
Content:
Form: Knitted
black, gray, white
and teal
yarn within a
rectangle form
Subject Matter:
American Express
credit card
Content: This
work is about our
“unraveling” and
struggling
economyArtwork pictured: AmEx CARD | 2005 | knit work,
90x170cm by: Dimitri Tsykalov

15. What is an artist’s role?
6 Basic Roles of Artists, derived from Mark Getlein’s Living with Art…
Artist & Architect, Maya Lin with her design for the Vietnam Memorial, May 6, 1981

16. 1. Create places for some human purpose.
• Maya Lin’s Vietnam Veterans
memorial in Washington D.C,
black granite, 1982 (video
left) creates an atmosphere
that honors the human
sacrifice of the war while
neither glorifying or
condemning the war itself.
The wall slowly tapers to
signify leaving the war
behind.
• The wall encourages a journey
downward into death, then
upward toward hope, healing
and reconciliation, bringing
the community together
(Getlein).
After watching the video consider:
• How did the memorial’s construction, materials and/or arrangement contribute to the meaning of the memorial?

17. 2. Create Extraordinary versions of
ordinary objects-
• When an artist takes an everyday object and transforms its meaning
and function to something ornate, symbolic or newly invented. For
example, Jeffrey Gibson’s Everlast series (2014) painstakingly
decorates ordinary Everlast punching bags into items of beauty
inspired by traditional craft and modern arts of Native American
Cultures.
• Visit the link above to see more of Gibson’s art work on his website.

18. 3. Record and Commemorate
• Artists often create images that help us remember
the present after it slips into the past.
• For example, Manohar’s Jahangir Receives a Cup
from Khusrae, 1606-06, water color on paper (left)
commemorates a moment of reconciliation between
father and son, who had a violent falling out during
the 17th century (Getlein).

19. 4. Give Tangible Form to the Unknown
• Artists often portray what
cannot be seen with the
eyes or events that could
only be imagined.
• This includes genres of
fantasy and fiction such as
Yayoi Kusama’s Fireflies on
the Water from 2002 (video
left).
Sound on video is not needed.
Disclaimer: Video depicts
flashing lights

20. 5. Give tangible form to feelings and Ideas
• Artists often use art as a means to express their
thoughts beliefs and feelings.
• Louise Bourgeois expresses herself using text in Been to
Hell & Back, hand embroidered in 1966 (left). Bourgeois
dealt with a lifetime of mental illness and this artwork
commemorates her experiences.
• Why do you think Bourgeois chose embroidery to create
this artwork?

21. 6. Refresh our vision and help us see the world
Le Devoir, The Saturday 4th and
Sunday, May 5, 2013
• Artists often rejuvenate our senses and create a different
perspective for the viewer. For example, artist Myriam Dion cuts
intricate designs into newspapers to question societies’ appetite for
sound-bite news and sensational art by showing us the quiet power
of patience.
Click her name to visit her website to see more visual examples of her art work.