This document provides an overview of different perspectives on what art is and its various purposes. It discusses art in terms of ability, process, product, beauty, truth, immortality, social contexts, order and more. Key points made include that there is no agreed-upon definition of art, that art serves many functions beyond just beauty, and that art can communicate experiences, ideas and have social influence.

1. Chapter 1
WHAT IS ART?

2. In both the sciences and the arts
we strive to weave our
experiences into coherent bodies
of knowledge and to
communicate them.

3. Art…
□ enhances daily experiences.
□ is linked to quality of life.
□ touches everyone.
□ is all around us.

4. The Meaning of the Word Art…
1. Ability - The human capacity to make
things of beauty and things that stir us.
2. Process - The different forms of art such as
drawing, painting, sculpting, architecture,
and photography.
3. Product - The completed work
Whatever the definition, it is important to know
the vocabulary of art in order to
understand it.

5. Some “Truths” About Art
1. There is no agreed-upon
definition of art.
2. Art does not necessarily have to
be beautiful.
3. Art can be created for any
number of reasons.

6. The Philosophies About Art:
Many philosophers have argued that art
serves no function, that it exists for its own
sake.
Some have asserted that the essence of art
transcends the human occupation with
usefulness.
Others have held that in trying to analyze art
too closely, one loses sight of its beauty and
wonderment.

7. Understanding and
appreciating art…
The questions to ask…
□ “Why was this created?”
□ “What is its purpose?”

8. What Are the Purposes of Art?

9. ART AND BEAUTY
□ Art adds beauty to our lives by looking
to nature
□ Art depicts both Western & Non-
Western concepts of beauty

10. 1.1 LEONARDO DA VINCI. Mona Lisa
(c. 1503–1505). Oil on wood panel. 30
1/4” x 21”.

11. 1.2 Kenyan woman, Masai tribe.
Standards for beauty can differ from
culture to culture.

12. “A Closer Look”
A Portrait in the Flesh
Sometimes artists try to improve
on nature – thereby creating an
alternative standard

13. 1.5 French performance artist Orlan, who has dedicated herself to embodying Western classic
beauty as found in the works of Leonardo, Botticelli, and Boucher through multiple plastic surgeries.
Here Orlan is being “prepped” for one in a series of operations.

14. 1.6 SANDRO BOTTICELLI. The Birth of Venus (1486). Detail. Tempera on canvas. 5’8 7⁄8” x 9’1 1⁄7”.

15. ART AND OUR ENVIRONMENT
Used to create pleasing
environments.
Used as Decoration.
Used to transport to another place.

16. 1.37 JOYCE KOZLOFF. Galla Placidia in Philadelphia (1985). Mosaic installation. 13’ x 16’

17. 1.37 DALE CHIHULY. Fioridi
Como (1998). 70’ x 30’ x 12’.

18. ART AND TRUTH
Truth in art is subjective.
True to nature?
True to human experience?
True to materials?

19. 1.7 FRIDA KAHLO. Diego in My
Thoughts (Diego y yo) (1949). Oil
on canvas, mounted on Masonite.
24” x 36”.

20. Art can be used to
□ Replicate nature
□ Show reality
□ Express an artist’s own experiences.

21. ART AND IMMORTALITY
Used to defy mortality, by staying in the
audiences consciousness for decades.
Art can bring people “together” from
different periods of time.

22. 1.9 ANDY WARHOL. Four Marilyns
(1962). Synthetic polymer paint and
silkscreen ink on canvas. 30" × 23⅞".

23. ART AND GLORY
□ Art immortalizes people and events
throughout the ages.
□ Art history’s wealthiest patrons
commissioned artists to create works
that glorified their reigns and
accomplishments.

24. 1.11 Column of Trajan, Forum of Trajan, Rome, dedicated 112. 128 feet high.

25. ART AND RELIGION
Humans developed art forms to
visually render the unseen.
Throughout different societies these
depictions include human forms,
animals, and composite figures.
Art is used to express hope, faith
and symbolize religious events and
values.

26. 1.13 JESSIE OONARK. A Shaman’s
Helping Spirits (1971). Stonecut and
stencil. 37 1⁄6” x 25 1⁄6”.

27. 1.14 AARON DOUGLAS.
Noah’s Ark (c. 1927). Oil on
masonite. 48” x 36”.

28. ART AND IDEOLOGY
Ideologies are an organized
collection of ideas. They tend to
originate from commonly held
beliefs within a society.
Art uses images to create and
reinforce ideology.

29. 1.17 SUZANNE VALADON.
Adam and Eve (1909). Oil on
canvas. 63¾ × 51⅝.

30. ART AND FANTASY
Some artists use their art as an
outlet to vent their imaginary inner
lives. These images can be evoked
from dreams or could simply be the
objects and landscapes conceived
in the unconscious mind.

31. 1.18 Marc Chagall I and the Village. (1911). Oil on canvas. 6’3-5/8” x 4’11-5/8”.

32. Art and Psychoanalytic
Many 20th Century artists looked to the
psychoanalytic writings of Sigmund Freud
and Carl Jung, who suggested that
primeval forces are at wok in the
unconscious reaches of the mind.
Artist’s sought to use their art as an outlet
for these unconscious forces.

33. 1.19 Max Beckmann. The Dream
(1921). Oil on canvas. 73-1/8” x
35”.

34. ART, INTELLECT, AND EMOTION
Art can make you think, feel, and
can trigger associations. The viewer
may ponder the purpose of the
artist, the emotions or activity of the
subject, all while forming one’s own
response to the piece.

35. Conceptual Art
Conceptual art does not only represent
external objects. It also challenges the
traditional view of the artist as creative
visionary, skilled craftsperson, and
master of one’s media. The “art” lies in
the artist’s conception.

36. ART, ORDER, AND
HARMONY
Art is harmony.
–Georges Seurat
Artists and scientists try to find the underlying
order of nature.
A perfect examples is Zen, a Buddhist sect that
seeks inner harmony through introspection and
meditation.

37. 1.21 Ryoanji Zen Temple, Japanese sand garden, Kyoto, Japan.

38. COMPARE +
CONTRAST
The Piano Lesson(s) by
Matisse and Bearden

39. 1.23 HENRI MATISSE. Piano Lesson (1916). Oil on canvas. 8’1⁄2” x 6’11 3⁄4”.
1.24 ROMARE BEARDEN. Piano Lesson (1983). Oil with Collage. 29» x 22’

40. 1.22 LAURIE SIMMONS. Red Library #2 (1983). Color photograph. 48 1⁄2” x 38 1⁄4”.

41. ART AND CHAOS
On the flipside of order and harmony,
artists have also sought to depict chaos. It
is often visualized through apocalyptic
events, war, and famine, but also merely
suggested even without specific content.

42. 1.25 JAUNE QUICK-TO-SEE SMITH. Eclipse (1987). Oil on canvas. 60” x 60”.

43. ART, EXPERIENCE, AND
MEMORY
□ Art has served to record and
communicate experiences and
events.
□ Memorials
□ Photographs of momentous occasions
□ Art also conveys the personal
experience of an artist.

44. 1.26 LOUISA CHASE. Storm (1981). Oil on canvas. 90” x 120”.

45. 1.27 ALFRED STIEGLITZ. The
Steerage (1907). Photograph.

46. 1.28 FAITH RINGGOLD. Tar Beach (1988). Acrylic paint on canvas and pieced fabric. 74” x 68-1⁄2”.

47. ART IN THE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL
CONTEXT
While recording experiences, artists
frequently note:
□ The activities and the objects of their
times and places
□ Contemporary fashion and beliefs
□ The crafts and sciences
□ Architecture

48. 1.29 EDWARD HOPPER. Nighthawks (1942). Oil on canvas. 30” x 60”.

49. 1.30 RICHARD HAMILTON. Just What Is It That Makes Today’s Homes So Different, So Appealing?
(1956). Collage. 10-1⁄4” x 9-3⁄4”.

50. 1.31 ZAHA HADID. Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Abu Dhabi. 2006.

51. ART AND SOCIAL
CONSCIOUSNESS
Artists have taken on bitter struggles
against the injustices of their times
and have tried to persuade others to
join them in their causes, and it has
been natural for them to use their
creative skills to do so.

52. 1.32 EUGÈNE DELACROIX. Liberty Leading the People (1830). Oil on canvas. 8’6” x 10’10”.

53. 1.33 SUZANNE LACY AND LESLIE LABOWITZ. In Mourning and in Rage (1977).
Performance at Los Angeles City Hall.

54. 1.34 BETYE SAAR. The Liberation of Aunt
Jemima (1972). Mixed media. 11-3⁄4” x 8” x
2-3⁄4”.

55. ART AND POPULAR CULTURE
□ Readymade - objects elevated from the
commonplace to the position of art.
□ Assemblage - art made and assembled from
found objects.
□ Pop Art - art that utilizes the commonplace
objects and visual clichés to make the
viewer think twice about the symbols and
objects that surround us.

56. 1.35 MIRIAM SCHAPIRO. Wonderland (1983). Acrylic and fabric collage on canvas. 90” x 144” (framed)

57. 1.36 MARCEL DUCHAMP.
Fountain (1917). 1951 version after
lost original. Porcelain urinal. H:
24".

58. Some artist create solely for:
□ “Self-actualization”
□ Novelty
□ Exploration
□ Understanding
□ Aesthetics
□ Beauty
□ Order
□ Emotional or psychological needs

59. 1.39 JOSÉ CLEMENTE OROZCO. Epic of American Civilization: Hispano-America (c. 1932–1934).
Fresco. 10” x 9’11”.