Art Appreciation Course

January 13, 2015 1
Art appreciation course
By Prof Mukund
Dean School of Architecture
Dayanand Sagar Acadamy of Technology & Management.
Udayapura, Bangalore 560 082
Course material for ARC 2.7 Under the
Visveswaraya Technological University, Belgaum

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Introduction
Art: Refers to the work of something done by a person ; The products of human creativity;
works of art collectively "an art exhibition"; "a fine collection of art"
The creation of beautiful or significant things
"art does not need to be innovative to be good"; "I was never any good at art";
architecture is the art of wasting space beautifully“
A superior skill that you can learn by study and practice
and observation (artistry)
Photographs or other visual representations in a printed publication
"the art of conversation"; "it's quite an art“
What is work of Art? We understand the work of art , refers to the work of something done by a person. It may be in visual form
( Photography / Painting & Sculpture) or in an audible form.( music,) skill display form (Magic /Drama & Graphic art)
Perception is one of the oldest fields within scientific psychology. perception is the process of acquiring, interpreting, selecting, and
organizing sensory information. Methods of studying perception to the often abstract 'thought-experiments' of mental philosophy. It
varies from person to person. Perception & conception are closely related. We are often led to see what we expect or want to see; we
recognize an object because it confirms to our conception of it, to its 1.Art form, 2 Content or 3. Subject matter.
Many of the objects we identify as art today -- Greek painted pottery, medieval manuscript illuminations, and so on -- were made in
times and places when people had no concept of "art" as we understand the term. These objects may have been appreciated in
various ways and often admired, but not as "art" in the current sense. ART lacks a satisfactory definition. ART has not always been
what we think it is today. An object regarded as Art today may not have been perceived as such when it was first made, nor was the
person who made it necessarily regarded as an artist. Both the notion of "art" and the idea of the "artist" are relatively modern terms.
Art is defined as a vehicle for the expression or communication of emotions and ideas, a means for exploring and appreciating
formal elements for their own sake, and as mimesis (The imitative representation of nature and human behavior in art and literature) or
representation

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“Art”- can be a creation – a creative activity - a
superior skill - a visual / audio means of
communication- etc.
its adoption can be seen in very many
subjects & fields
( like Painting, Printing, Sculpture, Music , Dance, Drama, Literature, Letter writing,
Photography, Magic performance, Navigation , Film making etc )

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"Art is an invitation to become part of something that is larger
than yourself”,
In order to be a grown-up, one has to be able to envision
“other lives as real, other possibilities as real.”
“When we don't have the arts”,
a very important part of us begins to starve and our humanity
begins to suffer & dwindle,"

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Elements & principles of (Art) design.
Understanding the elements and principles of design gives us the
vocabulary and understanding to talk about any design as
“Effective”,”Aesthetically pleasing” or “Visually arresting”.
• The Elements of Design refer to the visible things we see in a design:
• line
• shape
• colour
• texture
• Space
• They are like building blocks. Elements may have sub-elements, as you’ll see below.
• The Principles of Design are concepts that refer to the relationships of the
elements of design to each other and to the total composition.
• They guide how we arrange those visible elements to make effective compositions:
They include:
• balance
• unity
• harmony
• movement
• rhythm
• emphasis

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Elements of art
1). Demonstrate knowledge of elements of art ( i.e, Line , Colour, Shape/Form, texture, value, space) and how they are
used in visual arts and design.
2) Analyze and discuss the characteristics and qualities of the elements of art in given artworks in various media.
3). Describe how the elements of arts are used to achieve specific effects in a given works of two and three – dimensional art.
4). Analyze & describe how the elements of art are used and how they contribute to meaning or expressive qualities in a given artwork.
5). Apply the knowledge of the elements of art to analyze and describe the environment, works of art & design
Principles of Design
a). Demonstrate understanding of the principles of design (e.g.,. Balance, contrast , dominance, sub ordinance, emphasis, Movement, Repetition, Rhythm, Variation, Unity.)
b). Identify & describe the principles of design in given Visual composition
c). Identify & describe the principles of design as observed in natural or human made objects & environments.
d). Analyze how the composition of the work of art is affected by the use of a particular principle of design.
e) Analyze how a principle of design is used in a given work of art.
f). Analyze how various elements of art are used to illustrate principles of design in given artworks.
Creative expression
Candidates are involved in the transition of thoughts, perception & ideas into visual forms using a variety of media, techniques and
problem solving abilities & technical proficiency in the use of tools, for achieving what is desired in the related field for his adopted
form of artwork. (two dimensional art/Three dimensional art/Media art,) or in the performing art. depicting the societies of the
past and present.
Aesthetic valuing
When students are able to respond, analyze and interpret & involve a critique processes and pass judgment about the
quality & the success of artwork.
Visual literacy
It recognizes how different visual representations of the same object or event can lead to different interpretations of meaning
.(e.g., A red triangle) a visual image through communication media identifying a content (e.g Psychological, Metaphorical, Cultural).,
found in the symbols & Images.
Metaphorical; A figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity
Artists adopt a variety of art media and are able to demonstrate their skill effectively ( Magic, Pantomime shows etc,.) to structure
meaningful art experiences. in a diversity of global Cultural perspectives and relationships both among the Visual arts and between the
Visual arts & other disciplines.
Some Important Issues in Art Communication

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perception
Is it a vase or two faces ?
when you see one of the perceptions, the other region forms a
background and is not seen, so to see both percepts requires
switching back and forth.
how depth is represented in art ; The first topic is a general
characteristic of our perceptual capabilities: figure-ground
perception. It seems that our visual system simplifies the visual
scene into a figure that we look at and a ground which is everything
else and forms the background.
Pictures central region where both white and dark
birds are depicted, but only one of the sets of birds
tends to be perceived at a time.
Artistic perception: candidates demonstrate an
understanding of the foundations of artistic perception in
the visual or performing arts at an advanced level of
proficiencies. Candidates develop a broad & deep
knowledge of subject matter and are able to accurately
define and use the vocabulary of visual arts The
developed perceptual & analytical skills allow a
sophisticated response to the world around them and the
formal & expressive qualities of works of visual art &
design across a multiplicities of forms, media genares,
purposes & functions.

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Humanities academic disciplines which study the human condition,
Many American universities believe in the notion of a broad "liberal arts education", which requires all
college students to study the humanities in addition to their specific area of study. The humanities are
academic disciplines which study the human condition, using methods that are primarily analytic, critical, or
speculative, as distinguished from the mainly empirical ( information gained by means of observation,
experience, or experiment approaches of the natural and social sciences. In short, Humanities are those
broad areas of human creativity & is distinct from mathematics & hard sciences because strictly objective
& scientific standards are not usually dominant.
As we deepen the understanding of the arts, we necessarily deepen our understanding of values. We look at
the “whys & whats” of art by examining why certain kinds of values are associated with certain kind of art
and in the process of doing this we will also be educating over-selves about the nature of our own values
1 Humanities fields
1.0 Classics ; 1. History 2 Languages 3 Law 4 Literature
2.0 Performing arts 1 Music.2 Theatre.3 Dance 4 magic etc.
3.0 Philosophy
4.0 Religion
5.0 Visual arts 1 Painting ,2 Sculpture.3 Printing &
Other Media types. (TV etc.)

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• Classics; The classics, refer to cultures of classical antiquity, namely the Ancient Indian, Greek or Roman
or any cultures. The study of the classics is considered one of the cornerstones of the humanities. “Classics"
can be understood as including foundational writings from other major cultures, the Vedas and Upanishads
in India and various writings attributed to Confucius, Lao-tse and Chuang-tzu in China.
• History is systematically collected information about the past. history refers to the study and interpretation
of the record of humans, societies, institutions, and any topic that has changed over time. Knowledge of
history is often said to encompass both knowledge of past events and historical thinking skills.
• Languages The study of individual, modern and classical languages forms the backbone of modern study
of the humanities. Literature, covering a variety of uses of language including prose forms (such as the
novel), poetry and drama, also lies at the heart of the modern humanities curriculum.
• Law In common parlance, law means a rule which (unlike a rule of ethics) is capable of enforcement
through institutions. It has been defined as 1. a "system of rules", 2. as an "interpretive concept" to
achieve justice, 3. as an "authority" to mediate people's interests, and even as 4. "the command of a
sovereign, backed by the threat of a sanction.".
Law is philosophy, because moral and ethical persuasions shape their ideas. Law tells many of history's
stories, because statutes, case law and codifications build up over time. And law is economics, because any
rule about contract, tort, property law, labour law, company law and many more can have long lasting
effects on the distribution of wealth.
• Performing arts The performing arts differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own
body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal, or paint, which can
be molded or transformed to create some art object. Performing arts include acrobatics, busking, comedy,
dance, magic, music, opera, film, juggling, marching arts, such as brass bands, and theatre. Artists who
participate in these arts in front of an audience are called performers, including actors, comedians, dancers,
musicians, and singers. Most performance art also involves some form of plastic art, perhaps in the creation
of props.

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• Music Music as an academic discipline can take a number of different paths, including music performance,
music education (training music teachers), musicology, music theory and composition.. In the liberal arts
tradition, music is also used to broaden skills of non-musicians by teaching skills such as concentration and
listening.
• Theatre Theatre (or theater) is the branch of the performing arts concerned with acting out stories in front
of an audience using combinations of speech, gesture, music, dance, sound and spectacle — indeed any one
or more elements of the other performing arts. In addition to the standard narrative dialogue style, theatre
takes such forms as opera, ballet, mime, kabuki, classical Indian dance, Chinese opera, mummers' plays,
and pantomime
• Dance Dance generally refers to human movement either used as a form of expression or presented in a
social, spiritual or performance setting. Dance is also used to describe methods of non-verbal
communication (see body language) between humans or animals (bee dance, mating dance), and motion in
inanimate objects (the leaves danced in the wind). Choreography is the art of making dances, and the
person who does this is called a choreographer.
Definitions of what constitutes dance are dependent on social, cultural, aesthetic artistic and moral
constraints and range from functional movement (such as Folk dance) to codified, virtuoso techniques such
as ballet. In sports, gymnastics, figure skating and synchronized swimming are dance disciplines while
Martial arts 'kata' are often compared to dances.
• Philosophy Philosophy—etymologically,( history of a word) the "love of wisdom"--is generally the study
of problems concerning matters such as existence, knowledge, justification, truth, justice, right and wrong,
beauty, validity, mind, and language. "Ancient Greek philosophy was divided into three sciences: physics,
ethics, and logic." Today, the main fields of philosophy are logic, ethics, metaphysics, and epistemology. .
• " Analytic philosophy is marked by a clear, rigorous method of inquiry that emphasizes the use of logic and
more formal methods of reasoning. This method of inquiry is largely indebted to the work of philosophers
such as Gottlob Frege, Bertrand Russell,etc.

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• Religion Most historians trace the beginnings of religious belief to the Neolithic Period. Most religious
belief during this time period consisted of worship of a Mother Goddess, a Sky Father, and also worship of
the Sun and the Moon as deities.
Over time, a great variety of religions developed around the world, with Christianity & Islamic in the west
Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism in India, Zoroastrianism in Persia The monotheistic religious system of
Muslims founded in Arabia in the 7th century being some of the earliest major faiths
In the east, three schools of thought were to dominate Chinese thinking until the modern day. These were
Taoism, Legalism, and Confucianism.
• Visual arts Ancient Greek & Roman art saw a veneration (Religious zeal; the willingness to serve God )
of the human physical form and the development of equivalent skills to show musculature, poise, beauty
and anatomically correct proportions.. Eastern art has generally worked in a style akin to Western medieval
art, namely a concentration on surface patterning and local colour. Religious Islamic art forbids
iconography, and expresses religious ideas through geometry instead.
• Media types Drawing is a means of making an image, using any of a wide variety of tools and techniques.
It generally involves making marks on a surface by applying pressure from a tool, or moving a tool across a
surface. Common tools are graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons,
charcoals, pastels, and markers. Digital tools which simulate the effects of these are also used. The main
techniques used in drawing are: line drawing, hatching, crosshatching, random hatching, scribbling,
stippling, and blending. An artist who excels in drawing is referred to as a draftsman or draughtsman.
• Painting Painting taken literally is the practice of applying pigment suspended in a carrier (or medium) and
a binding agent (a glue) to a surface (support) such as paper, canvas or a wall. However, when used in an
artistic sense it means the use of this activity in combination with drawing, composition and other aesthetic
considerations in order to manifest the expressive and conceptual intention of the practitioner. Colour is
the essence of painting as sound is of music. Colour is highly subjective, but has observable
psychological effects, although these can differ from one culture to the next. Black is associated with
mourning in the West, but elsewhere white may be. Some painters, theoreticians, writers and scientists,
including Goethe, Kandinsky, Isaac Newton, have written their own colour theory.
Modern artists have extended the practice of painting considerably to include, for example, collage. This
began with cubism and is not painting in strict sense. Some modern painters incorporate different materials
such as sand, cement, straw or wood for their texture.
Modern and contemporary art has moved away from the historic value of craft in favour of concept; this
has led some to say that painting, as a serious art form, is dead, although this has not deterred the majority
of artists from continuing to practise it either as whole or part of their work.

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Abstract art:
• An abstract genre of art;
(artistic content depends on internal form rather than pictorial representation)
Connections levitating sphere
abstraction uses shapes, colors and lines as elements in and for themselves
subject matter is cut up so as to make its meaning nonsensical or unreal

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Popular subjects of arts ( for painting work)
1.Abstract 2.Botanical 3.Animal
4. People 5. Places

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• abstraction & abstract art
A concept or idea not associated with any specific instance. At its purest, abstraction uses shapes, colors and lines as
elements in and for themselves. Abstraction can also be conceptual, such as when a sentence or subject matter is cut up so as
to make its meaning nonsensical or unreal. A characteristic trait of 20th century and Modern Art, many artists working
today combine representational and abstract elements while others make works without recognizable people, places, or
things.
• aesthetic
Used to describe something as visually-based, beautiful, or pleasing in appearance and to the senses. Aesthetics is a term
developed by philosophers during the 18th and 19th centuries and is also the academic or scientific study of beauty and taste
in art.
• allegory
An image or story that refers to a related or overarching concept such as good or evil.
• alter-ego
A fictional self, different from one’s own, in an idealized or transformed version.
• animation
Giving movement to something; the process of making moving cartoons or films that use cartoon imagery.
• architecture
The art of designing and constructing buildings, architecture can also refer to the building or space that an artist is making a
work in relation to, such as with installation art. Architecture has close ties to the visual arts, and many artists' works are
very sensitive to the ways in which their art interacts with buildings and exhibition spaces.
• artifact
An object produced or shaped by human craft, especially a rudimentary art form or object, as in the products of prehistoric
workmanship. different and yet share the same commitment to questioning artistic conventions.
• beat generation
A group of American youth, writers and artists in the 1950s who experimented with communal living, a nomadic lifestyle,
and Eastern philosophy. Often associated with jazz music,.
• Byzantine
A religious style of art developed in the eastern part of the late Roman Empire. Colorful and ornate, Byzantine art is
characterized by its use of mosaic and by its flat, graphic style. Before the aesthetic and scientific advances of the Italian
Renaissance, Byzantine paintings have shallow perspective and rely heavily on symbols and iconography to convey a story
or meaning.
• calligraphy
The art of handwriting, or letters formed by hand.
• Caricature.
A representation of a person or thing that exaggerates their most striking or characteristic features. Famous people and
political figures are often drawn as caricatures by cartoonists to humorous ends.
Caricatures, when thought of as an accurate likeness, are transformed into stereotypes.
Glossary of Important words

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• casting
A sculptural process, done by pouring a liquid material into a mold and allowing it to cool or harden. Casting is used to make
a replica of an object or to make groups of identical objects. Many mass-produced commercial objects, such as toys and
dinnerware, are casts.
• cinematography
The art of photographing and lighting films. Cinematography can also refer to the style or genre of a movie or motion picture,
such as black-and-white cinematography or documentary cinematography.
• Classical art
Referring to the art of ancient Greece and Rome (300–400 BCE) and characterized by its emphasis on balance, proportion,
and harmony.
• collage
The process or product of affixing paper or objects to a two-dimensional surface.
• composition
The arrangement of an artwork's formal elements.
• Choreographer
creator of dance & Compose a sequence of dance steps, often to music
• conceptual art
Works of art in which the idea is equally if not more important than the finished product. Conceptual art can take many
forms, from photographs to texts to videos, while sometimes there is no object at all. Emphasizing the ways things are made
more than how they look, conceptual art often raises questions about what a work of art can be. Conceptual art is also often
difficult to collect or preserve as it can be the artist's own experience that is the work of art.
• contemporary art
Art made after 1970 or works of art made by living artists. A loose term that at times overlaps with Modern Art, many
museums specialize in showing art by living artists in isolation while other institutions show contemporary art along with
works dating back thousands of years. Unlike Modern Art, contemporary art is not defined by a succession of periods,
schools, or styles.
• content
The subject matter, concepts, or ideas associated with a work of art. A work's content is shaped by the artist's intentions, the
context of its presentation, and by the experiences, thoughts, and reactions of the viewer.
• context
The location, information, or time-frame that informs how a work of art is viewed and what it means. Works of art often
respond to a particular space or cultural climate. If the context for a work of art is changed or re-contextualized, the way in
which the work is understood may change as well.
• culture
The rarely questioned system of beliefs, values and practices that form one's life. Cultures are often identified by national
borders, ethnicity, and religion—while some cultures cross borders, ethnicities and organized faiths. A culture which involves
a select portion of a population and which is organized around a particular interest (such as cars, graffiti, or music) is known
as a subculture.

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• Dance;
A performing art. Bharatanatyam offers, integrating mind, body and spirit. Dance skills will enhance one’s ability as an all
round performer and improve their chances of landing in great roles
• Design
Relating to popular forms of art including architecture, books, the internet, furniture, and mass media. Today, things that are
designed are often mechanically produced or made with the help of a computer.
• Ecology
The relationship between organisms and their environment, ecology is also concerned with the relationship between people
and nature.
• Ethics
A system of morals or judgments which govern one's behavior, ethics often intersect with a work of art or the process of its
making. Artists often feel that they have an ethical responsibility to voice political concerns or make changes to society.
• Flux-us
Implying flow or change, the term flux-us was adopted by a group of artists, musicians, and poets in the 1960's to describe a
radical attitude and philosophy for producing and exhibiting art. Often presented in non-traditional settings, Flux-us forms
included impromptu performances, mail art, and street spectacles.
• Form
The shape and structure of a work of art, formal elements include color, shape, pattern, and duration. Many artists strive for a
relationship between form and content, so that the way something is made fits with what the artist intends the work to be
about or how it will be seen.
• Genre
A means of categorizing works of art based on style, form, and subject matter. History painting and landscape are genres of
painting; horror and romantic comedy are genres of film; detective and science fiction are genres of literature.
• gesture
A description of figural movement; the embodiment of the essence of a figure.
• graffiti
Art made on a public surface, such as a building or a street sign, that is not owned by the artist. Dating back to ancient Egypt,
graffiti today is often made with spray paint and marker. Seen by some as vandalism, others view graffiti as an important
expression of opinions.
• history painting
Large-scale painting which represents either historical events or scenes from legend and literature. Considered the highest
form of art in the 19th century, history paintings are generally grand in execution. Much of Modern Art has been a reaction
against history painting, while some contemporary artists have found ways to incorporate the genre into their work.
• Iconography
Symbols and images that have a particular meaning, either learned or universal.

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• illusion
A visually misleading or perceptually altered space or object
• kinetic
Having mechanical or moving parts that can be set in motion; art that moves.
• kitsch
Used to describe items that are overly decorative or sentimental, kitsch may also have negative connotations—meaning
tastelessness or bad taste in art.. However, what is kitsch in one cultural context may not be in another.
• land art
Also known as earth art or earthworks, land art uses the raw materials of the natural world to make large-scale, outdoor
sculpture. Often taking many years to complete, some earthworks made in the 1970s exist to this day while others are still
under construction.
• Len-ticular
A printed image that shows depth or motion as the viewing angle changes; of or relating to a lens.
• lexicon
Literally, a vocabulary. A collection of terms or characteristics used in a particular profession, subject, or style.
• metaphor
A relationship between disparate visual or verbal sources where one kind of object, idea, or image is used in place of another
to suggest a likeness or analogy between them. Artists use metaphor to bridge differences between seemingly dissimilar
images and ideas.
• minimal art
A type of abstract art, primarily three-dimensional, which often uses industrial materials in geometric or repetitive ways.
Reduced to basic shapes (cubes, spheres) or bare materials (steel, neon tubing, bricks), minimalist objects of the 1960s
expressed more the artist's process than his or her emotions.
• modernism
An historical period and attitude from the early to mid-20th century, characterized by experimentation, abstraction, a desire
to provoke, and a belief in progress. Modern artists strove to go beyond that which had come before. Works of modern art
may be visually different and yet share the same commitment to questioning artistic conventions. Modern Art is oriented
towards developing new visual languages (rather than preserving and continuing those of the past) and takes the form of a
series of periods, schools, and styles. Modern art challenges our ideals of beauty and representation, encouraging us to think
outside the realms society dictates as ‘normal’.
• multicultural
Influenced by a diversity of ethnic, religious, cultural or national perspectives.
• mythology
An allegorical narrative often incorporating legendary heroes, gods, and demi-gods of a particular people or culture.
• narrative
The representation in art, by form and content, of an event or story. Whether a literal story, event, or subject matter—or a
more abstract relationship between colors, forms and materials—narrative in visual art applies as much to the work as it does
to the viewer's "story" of what they see and experience.

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• op art
Short for Optical Art, a style popular in the 1960s that was based on optical principles and optical illusion. Op Art deals in complex
color interactions, to the point where colors and lines seem to vibrate before the eyes.
• oral tradition
The spoken relation and preservation, from one generation to the next, of a people's cultural history and ancestry, often by a
storyteller in narrative form.
• Palette
A particular range of colors or a tray for mixing colors.
• Performance & performance art
Public, private, or videotaped, performances often involve the artist performing a creative, visually compelling action. Performance
art is normally created by people with a visual arts education and relates more to the history of painting and sculpture than to
theater or dance. Often taking place in a gallery or on video, performance art rarely involves trained actors or directors.
• perspective
A visual formula that creates the illusion of depth and volume on a two-dimensional surface. Perspective also infers a particular
vantage point or view. .
• place
A geographic or imaginary location, landscape, origin, or relation in space. Artists are influenced by their surroundings and their
works are often in response to a site or historical situation. In American history, places such as the antebellum South or the Wild
West are mythic in their hold on the public imagination. Today, artists are continually drawn to the conceptual landscapes of
cyberspace, television, and mass media.
• pop art
Art which draws its subject matter or appearance from mass media and consumer culture. Transforming "low" culture such as
advertisements, comics, and tabloid photographs into the "high" culture of painting and sculpture, Pop artists of the 1950s and 60s
reached a wide audience with their cool, detached depiction of contemporary times.
• popular culture
Literature, broadcasting, music, dance, theater, sports, and other cultural aspects of social life distinguished by their broad-based
presence and popularity across ethnic, social, and regional groups.
• postmodernism
A term that has come to describe the stylistic developments that depart from the norms of modernism. Postmodernism questions the
validity of the emphasis of modernists on logic, simplicity, and order, suggesting that ambiguity, uncertainty, and contradiction
may also have a valid place.
• process
An artist's investigation, or the steps the artist takes to make a work of art, processes differ widely from artist to artist.
• public art
Works of art that are designed specifically for, or placed in, areas physically accessible to the general public.
• punk rock
An aggressive and rebellious genre of music which emerged in the 1970s, punk is characterized by a do-it-yourself attitude,
rawness, and distrust for authority and standards of good taste. Brash colors and a second-hand or recycled aesthetic are stylistic
features of punk rock.

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• satire
Exposing human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn.
• silhouette
An outline drawing of a shape. Originally a silhouette presented a profile portrait filled in with a solid color.
• spectacle
A mediated or constructed view or image that is of a remarkable or impressive nature, sensationalizing its subject.
• spirituality
A questioning of humanity's place in the universe, marked by an interest in self-reflection, mortality and meditation.
Spirituality is often associated with things that are mysterious, felt before they are understood, and beyond the scope of
human thought, time and history. Distinct from religion, spirituality is an attitude and not an organized set of rituals or
beliefs.
• stereotype
A generalized type, or caricature of a person, place or culture, often negative in tone. Visual as well as verbal, stereotypes
tend to be reduced or oversimplified images.
• symbolism
The practice of representing things by an image, sign, symbol, convention, or association.
• synesthesia
A feeling evoked in one sense when another sense is stimulated. Examples of synesthesia include seeing the color yellow and
smelling lemons, or smelling hot chocolate and feeling warm.
• utopia
An ideal or perfect society, utopias are imagined communities where everyone lives in perfect peace and harmony. Projects
as recent as the internet have been proposed as places where a utopia may be possible. Evocative of people's hopes and
wishes, utopias are ultimately unrealizable. The negative corallary of utopia is dystopia.
• vernacular
Everyday language specific to a social group or region; the everyday language spoken by a people as opposed to the literary
language.
• voyeur
An observer who derives pleasure viewing sensational subjects at a distance.
• wunderkabinett
A German term, a Wunderkabinett is a "cabinet of wonders," and a Wunderkammer is a "chamber of wonders," Both are
exhibition spaces in which miscellaneous curiosities—odd and wondrous rarities—are brought together for private
contemplation and pleasure. The objects on display in these storage/display spaces were primarily marvels of nature. A
precursor of the museum, these cabinets were developments of the Renaissance.
• xenophobia
Irrational fear or hatred of anything foreign or unfamiliar, especially other social or foreign groups. A xenophobe is a person
who is unduly fearful or contemptuous of anything foreign, especially of strangers or foreign peoples. Subcategories include
racism, sexism, homophobia, and religious intolerance; and specific to the art world, the off-hand dismissal of art by a viewer
without attempting to understand it.

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Painting artwork
• Art consisting of Representational, imaginative, or abstract designs produced by application of coloured paints to a two-dimensional,
prepared, flat surface.
• The elements of design (i.e., line, colour, tone, texture) are used in various ways to produce sensations of volume, space, movement,
and light. The range of media (e.g., tempera, fresco, oil, watercolour, ink, gouache, encaustic, casein) and the choice of a particular
form (e.g., mural, easel, panel, miniature, illuminated manuscript, scroll, screen, fan) combine to realize a unique visual image.
Painting as an art form dates back to prehistoric cave paintings.
• Painting is a term applied to the deliberate application of paint to a surface, whether for decoration and protection of that surface, or
in order to create an image upon that surface. Two artists with near identical work will follow vastly differing career trajectories due
to the different way they talk and write about their artworks .
• paint is best left to dealing with two-dimensionality. Put simply, painting at its purest must be flat.
• In abstract painting the subject matter is a sensuous surface itself—colour, line etc. with Representational paintings it is with objects
& events.
• By looking at how past artists have incorporated subject matter into their work you will be able to better choose your subject to
convey your personal sense of taste. Once you have done this you can combine your new subject with the skills you have learned
from earlier landscape and still-life exercises. In this way you can make sure that your pictures combine various elements of tone,
line, colour and form within them whilst reflecting your personality.
• The landscape drawing or painting is a picture conceived with the intention of conveying a particular natural scene:
• Many a times Artists imagine a mental picture and then go looking for suitable reference that will give them painting authenticity.
Camera they carry become the only way to grab detailed references. & become the basis for producing a very good painting,
With a spontaneity of sketching, the freedom and accidental effects of water colours and the richness and versatility of oils they use
for their artwork. .
• Exploring the effects of the unconscious mind on artwork. Is called “Surrealism” it is highly influenced by philosophical and
psychological currents of the time.
• Portraiture is a genre of drawing and painting that arose principally out of the vanity of the higher classes. Having a portrait painted
was a sign that someone had wealth, power and taste.
Surrealism is a style developed in the
early 20th Century and highly influenced
by philosophical and psychological
currents of the time. The Surrealist
Movement was an organized network of
artists dedicated primarily to exploring
the effects of the unconscious mind on
artwork.

21
Sculpture artwork
• Sculpture is the act and art of making three-dimensional works of art such as statues. A statue
is an image such as a person or animal that is sculpted in a solid substance. Sculptors use many
different materials in their work such as stone, bronze, clay, iron, steel, paper, metal, marble,
wood, soap, chocolate, butter, balloons, ice, snow, and sand.
• Doing sculpture work is more ideally suited to conveying three dimensions than paint is, paint
is best left to dealing with two-dimensionality..
• The main thing you will notice about sculpture is that there is much less of it around than there
is painting, print making and photography.
• Sculpture varies greatly, but generally entails work that has been literally crafted or moulded
from some kind of raw material. It is the craft skill,
• Many collectors are interested in sculpture for the way in which it occupies three dimensional
space: unlike two dimensional work,
• sculpture occupies floor space and is something that can be walked around and thus interacted
with in a very tangible way.
• Older works may require specialist conservation skills, especially with regard to material such
as stone, which can corrode when the elements are exposed.
• Sculptures are often thematic on topics such as wildlife, religion, tradition, or fun. Wonderful
examples of sculpture can be found throughout the world. Sculpture has been an important part
of every culture since ancient times.
• The space around a sclupture is sensory rather than empty. It is felt like the wind. It may bring
out something , we have not perceived.

22
• Music is composed of successive tones. A sound that has one definite frequency is called as a Tone. Our ear is used to hearing a
primary tone with fainter partials. Music is One of the most powerful art because of…Sound.. which creates in us involuntary
reactions pleasant or unpleasant. There is no escaping the effects of music, except by turning off the source
• Music, a great place to discover the excitement of the performing arts, it has musicians and great composers, conductors,
Instrumental players and much more People have always been at the heart of the art form of Music & Dance
• At the most basic level, musical theatre is comprised of three components: music, lyrics, and dialogue Although the inclusion of
dance is not required, movement is almost always part of the equation. Even in musicals that do not feature advanced
choreography, the blocking and expressiveness of the actors bodies create the visual effect of the piece. Music as an academic
discipline can take a number of different paths, including music performance, music education (training music teachers),
musicology, music theory and composition.. In the liberal arts tradition, music is also used to broaden skills of non-musicians by
teaching skills such as concentration and listening
• The Subject Matter for dance at its most basic level is abstract—moving bodies shaping of space. Dance is rhythmic & unfolding
in time. The medium of dance is the human body which has a powerfully expressive language that is virtually impossible to
completely suppress. Our feelings show; directly & vividly in our bodily movements & gestures. Even if we try to hide our
feelings, the hiding shows, at least to the acute observer
• Dance can't really exist without dancers, as well as choreographers, artistic directors and all the many others who contribute
to the creation and production of the art.
• Art may take a visual or audible form, be it tangible or intangible, Dance is a form of expression, and is therefore
inextricably linked to art. Traditionally, tap, classical jazz, or period dance have been associated with musical theatre. This is
because these dance forms were well suited to the earliest musicals, which grew from song-and-dance revues. These shows
focused less upon a coherent plot and more upon the ability of the performance to entertain and amuse. Themes of contemporary
life such as gender, power, sexuality and the body are explored through movement, sound, space and visual effects. Modern
dance has become a realm in which all the tools of artistic expression can be integrated visually and spatially.
• choreographed dance is employed in musical theatre to enhance the storytelling, adding entertainment value and spirit to a
performance. Top rockin’ often serves as an introduction to the dance and a warm-up for the dancer before he or she attempts
more acrobatic moves. Conversely, downrock is the footwork the dancer performs low to the ground
• Hip hop began as a cultural movement in the ghettos of New York in the early 1970s. The term ‘hip hop’ was first used by
underground MCs and DJs in the clubs, as they picked up on the rhythm of the music and shouted to the crowds to join in the
dancing. However, it was DJ Afrika Bambaataa who used the term to describe the urban movement which was currently on the
rise. Breaking, also called b-boying or b-girling, is an intensely practiced and popular style of dance and has been since its
origins in the 1970s
Music & Dance Art
these two art forms collide with force, creating new possibilities for their impact upon pop culture and society

23
• Hip hop traditionally refers to four main art forms: MC-ing, or rapping, DJ-ing, dancing and graffiti. Street dance or
hip hop dance, as it exists today, stems from the innovative and varied movement styles which began to develop
separately, but simultaneously, on the east and west coasts of America. In New York, ‘breaking’ and ‘uprocking’
emerged. Meanwhile, ‘popping’ and ‘locking’ came into being in Los Angeles.
• In order to keep things interesting, however, choreographers have been allowed to use this music as a blank canvas for
storytelling. The rise of rock musicals has also affected the role of the choreographer, giving productions a more
'freestyled' look and a stronger link to social dance.
• By embracing the tone set by a writer, composer, or choreographer, these routines and performances illustrate the way
dance can stretch across mediums, reaching a variety of audiences and expressing any number of ideas. hip hop dance
and the larger hip hop culture has grown out of a history as rich and influential as that of any more traditional genre of
dance or music.
• Since theatre itself is tied up in the idea of performance and spectatorship, musical theatre dance becomes another
language spoken between artist and audience. It emphasizes the effectiveness of movement in storytelling and
character development while standing as a testament to the way in which dance can be simultaneously exploratory
and entertaining.
• The performing arts also have a long and distinguished tradition. Bharata-natya, the classical dance form originating
in southern India, expresses Hindu religious themes that date at least to the 4th century
• Whether you admit it or not, music imbeds our daily life, weaving its beauty and emotion through our thoughts,
activities and memories The history of music, whether you're talking about classical music, rock music, jazz music, or
any other kind, is always complicated. New chord structures are introduced bringing with them new ways of
understanding the world New rhythmic patterns are introduced, bringing with them new ways of understanding time.
And music reflects all of it.
• If you have never taken a course in the history of music, you don't know what you are missing out on. The radio will
never sound the same to you again. Everything will seem much more rich, much more luminous, and much more
important. A new song can reflect a new way of being, and a new way of imagining life in the world. This is what
learning about the history of music means to many of us.
• The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music
tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and, developed over several eras
it remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as sources of spiritual inspiration, cultural expression and pure
entertainment. India is made up of several dozen ethnic groups, speaking their own languages and dialects, having
very distinct cultural traditions.

24
Art of photography & Film making
• Photographic vision began long before the invention of Camera & Film making.. The renaissance
painters used Camera Obscura for achieving realistic representations of space & depth.
• The photographic vision has a capacity to produce accurate perspective & great detail with sharp
cropping & framing. The colour images produce faithful renditions of the scene.
• The success of photography had an instant impact on painting & in 1839 many painters thought
that Painting profession is dead. however it was later disproved as the photographers ability to
transform subject matter was restricted & painters on the other hand could create their images
with much more flexibility by organizing their media---colour, Light, line & Texture etc,.
• There was a time when photography as a art was also challenged as what can be done with the
photograph was limited & restricted, how ever, it regained its position as an art later on. With
pictorial-ism using pictorial lighting barrowed from painting works.
• The colour photography with its softness of lighting has pictographic values. Many people both
ignorant & well informed about photography as an art, Fail to realize Colour as a part of the
subject matter to produce various personalities (in film acting) with different costume changes to
produce different desired effects. Many contemporary photographers are searching for new ways
of photographic seeing for expressionism.
• The making of film is exceptionally complex because of the necessary & often difficult
collaboration required among many people; especially the directors, script writers , actors,
Photographers & Editors. The range of possible subject matter is exceptionally extensive for film.
The point of view that can be achieved are very many with zoom & wide angled lenses The film is
the most modern & popular of our ART.

25
Photography & Media art
•Flak Photo is a daily photography website that celebrates the art & culture of photography online. Produced by
Andy Adams, the site highlights exhibitions from an international community of contributors
Photography & Media art (( Grafic Art ))
A poster is an orderly composition of information and images designed to catch attention and convey information.
A graphic art process is a way of printing a design or text, often in multiple copies. The traditional offset printing technique dominated
the printing scene up until the late Twentieth Century when digital technology emerged as a key player. Digital offset printing, this
technology, which has existed since 1993, makes it possible to complete full-colour, offset printing directly from computer files,
graphic designer would cut and paste while preparing the layout for a design to be printed.
How does a graphic designer capture movement? Motion can be frozen in time when captured by a camera. Photography is an obvious
medium for publicists to use when promoting a specific work. Since the camera reduces three dimensions to two, photographs
perfectly lend themselves to graphic design

26
Art of Literature
• More than any other art, Literature and especially the novel, reveal all the joys & sorrows in the world & brings the inner
truths of the human spirit. The emphasis is given on the spoken language & the wedding of sound & sense. Reading the
literary work clarifies this point.
• Spoken language is the basic medium of literature since we are the inheritors of printing press in the 15 th cent. We
rarely read aloud & Reading silently is faster. Even though we read silently, sound is the essential part of the Sense or
meaning of the words, which rings in the inner ear.
• The most basic element of literature, the visual structure is more important than the sound structure as we read it aloud.
• Literature happens in time & keeps changing with time. In order to perceive it , we must know the past, present & guess
the future.
• Literature like representational painting, is also about objects & events, with sensuous sounding words, as its Title
indicating the subject matter. Words are haunted with meanings & sometimes refer beyond themselves. The sensuality
is very important. Lines can only point to its contents. Sound and sense are merged in poetry evoking feelings.
• Language has denotation (pointing out by name) or connotations. (An idea that is implied, Intention.) for words. Which
when used has a specific application only to a particular group & not universally understood in the structure.
• Literature, has a narrative structure (Essays) or a Lyric structure. (songlike quality) Some essays have narrative
structure, Some focus on a relatively isolated emotional situation, which is the hallmark of Lyrics. The urge to tell a story
or to explore an emotional situation, seems basic to most Literature. The “ episodic narrative” is one of the oldest forms
of Literature. The term “Episodic” implies significant disconnections in the parts of a structure. Other types of structures,
are “Organic narrative”, “Quest narrative”,.& a Variety of Lyrical forms.. Which is best adopted for revealing feelings.
• The details of a scene( wall of a literary structure) is like Architecture If one of the detail is imperfectly perceived, our
understanding of the function of that detail—and in turn of the total structure – will be imperfect. The details are
organized as parts; & parts are organized into the structure.
• T he use of image, metaphor, symbol & diction as well as other details, determines in an essential sense, the content s
of a work of Literature
• “Diction” is a term that refers to the “choice of words”. But because the entire act of writing involves the choice of words,
the term Diction is usually reserved for Literary acts (Drama / Lecture presentation) that use words chosen especially
carefully for their Impact.

27
Art of Drama
• Drama is a species of Literature whose medium is spoken Language. Drama means “Act” usually upon a stage as per
a printed page for performance. The script developed with a synthesis of related arts– acting, scenery, Lighting, &
perhaps with Music, Dance and even film. Drama as a complete work of art only in the actual process of
presentation. & requires considerable initiation.
• Drama exhibits events at the moment of their occurring, vividly with immediate impact. No other art comes closer to
life with its Comedy or Tragedy ,which are the acts of imitating an action performed in drama to bring in its realism.
• Realism is not a very useful standard for evaluating drama. It should be realistic only to the extent that it allows a
meaningful interpretation of reality.
• Drama uses the resources of the theater to show human actions in such a way that we gain deeper understanding of
human experience. It is played for a limited capacity of people for sustained concentration, for a period of 2 hours with
an intermission as a need for physical & mental relaxation.
• A soliloquy occurs when a character in a drama reveals his / her thoughts to the audience & not to the other
characters. Dramatists must get to their subject matter rapidly and interpret by forming an action in such a way that it
is understood by all. Irrelevancies must be eliminated & relevancies must produce Insight.
• Archetypal dramas aim at symbolic or mystic interpretations of experience. The stirrings felt in the viewers mind upon
a performed act has a conscious response for those unconscious forces. It is the psychic residue of experiences of
that type which have happened to ancestors & of which the results are inherited in the structure of the brain. That is
the power that archetypal drama has on our imaginations. Archetypes are often closely connected with myths & fairy
tales.
• Tragedy scenes usually involves with the death of the hero , although some times the death scene is withheld. &
comedy scenes creates many funny situations. These are the two genres of Drama. Modern dramas tend to avoid
traditional tragic structures because modern concepts of character, sin , death, guilt & fate have been grately altered
• Modern psychology explains characters in ways the ancients either would not have understood or would have
disputed. The power of tragedy has reduced in modern times
• In many dramas the proscenium stage is utilized effectively for giving the background for the drama before its
commencement to the audience
• The importance of a drama gets depicted in its plots, characters, expressed thoughts, Diction, created Spectacles on
the stage & Music. For all its effects.

28
Art of Architecture
ARCITECTURE is both a visual & functional Art & is considered as
“the mother of all Arts”
you will never find any child prodigies in this art , as it is an art comprising of
Art, Science & Technology developed for the benefit of human existence & its
continuance and requires the maturity of mind for adopting its various
applications for the benefit of all Humans”

29
• Architecture is a great hallowed out sculpture the solids and voids of a work of Architecture have their effects.
• Space is the material of the architect. He carves out inner space & outer space in such a way that both spaces
become more fully perceptible & in tern more intrinsically valuable. The solids and voids in walls leave their effect.
Sun light, rain, snow, mist and night fall gracefully upon the cover protecting the inner space. The space takes
possession of us with a qualitative grasp & we have a place to dwell.
• Architects must account for four basic and closely interrelated requirements; technical requirement, Use, spatial
relationship, and Content
• The buildings must stand on the ground. Architects must know the materials & their potentialities, how to put them
together& how the materials work on a particular site. Etc,. The buildings have contents they must serve for its
various functional uses, So Architects become engineers as well as artists to solve those problems. FL.Wright
when solving the technical & functional problems for the Guggenheim museum had considerable success
However , if you check up the site for yourself and see if you are satisfied with the spatial relationships between
the museum & surrounding buildings, it seems to us that FL.Wright was not completely successful. The technical,
Functional and spatial necessities are obviously interdependent.
• A function or use of a building is an essential part of subject matter of that building. What the architect interprets
or gives insights into, is by means of a form. Any building that is technically awry (not functioning properly) with
poor lighting, or awkward passages or cramped rooms will distract from any artistic meaning, we ignore those kind
of forms as much as possible.
• Because of the public character of Architecture, the common or shared values (The cultural values ) of a time,
somehow, impose themselves from the society in structuring the building activity and the architect must be
sensitive enough to accommodate them. Even, If the architect criticize or react against them with his personal
idiosyncrasy. (A behavioral attribute that is distinctive and peculiar to an individual)
• Finally, Architecture in this world, can be classified into 3 main types; Earth rooted, Sky oriented & Earth resting
architecture, to make a living place to dwell comfortably and It is classified under Visual Art.

30
Art criticism
"We are in the process of making the world, to a certain extent, in our own image - however, to submit to the philistine
( ignorent ) world, our struggle against bourgeois (middle class) society has involved the total rejection of it.“ –
……Feelings of an artist for his work.
• “troubled objects of criticism,” value and judgment are—and have always been—at the forefront of
debates”. Art critics today work not only in print media-in specialist art magazines as well as
newspapers, but also on the internet, on TV and on radio, and in museums and galleries. Many are
also employed in Universities or as art educators for museums. Art critics curate exhibitions and are
frequently employed to write exhibition catalogues online art critical websites and art blogs have
cropped up around the world to add their voices to the art world. Some notable blogs include anaba,
ArtCal, Art Fag City, Bad at Sports, Art Critica
• art criticism is a much lower risk activity than making art,
• Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual art.
• Art critics usually criticize art in the context of aesthetics or the theory of beauty. One of criticism's
goals is the pursuit of a rational basis for art appreciation. The variety of artistic movements has
resulted in a division of art criticism into different disciplines, each using vastly different criteria for
their judgements
• opinions of current art are always liable to drastic corrections with the passage of time. Critics of the
past are often ridiculed for either favoring artists now derided
• Artists have often had an uneasy relationship with their critics. Artists usually need positive opinions
from critics for their work to be viewed and purchased; unfortunately for the artists, only later
generations may understand it.

January 13, 2015 31
Conclusions from the study
Color After effect
WHILE COMMENTING ON ANY ART FORM,
WHATEVER YOU UNDERSTAND BY THE TERMS
“ Medium”, “ Contents” & “ Subject matter”
& its usage in to the art form , - will indicate
your understanding of the subject in the
Art Appreciation Course
THANK YOU

Art Appreciation Course

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