In this module we focus on what is known as the "institutional theory of art." In this view, art status is not a characteristic of the object itself, but of the institutional supports that surround and support it as such.
3. agenda 8.27.15
what is art? what makes an image or object art or
non-art?
what is folk art? how is folk art different from fine
art?
can great art be made by anyone?
4. what makes art valuable?
are the most famous artists the best ones?
are the ones whose art sells for the most money the best
artists?
if an artist is unknown in the wider society, does that mean
he or she isn’t very good?
how do we determine value in art? is there a neutral,
value-free way of comparing artists?
5. Leonardo DA VINCI
Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of
Francesco del Giocondo, known as the
Mona Lisa (the Joconde in French)
c. 1503–06
oil on panel
30.3 x 20.8 inches
Acquired by François I in 1518
6. why is the Mona Lisa
so famous?
• because it is the best painting ever made?
• [qualities of object]
• because Leonardo is a genius?
• [qualities of the maker]
are there other factors?
7. one answer
It is located in the Louvre, one of the most well-known art
museums in the world. [i.e., it’s benefited from a central art
world location since 1804]
where critics who praise some artists and ignore others have
been able to see it
where art historians have written it into history
where artists have been influenced by it
where art lovers and visitors and tourists have come to see
it and photograph it, and buy coffee mugs and totebags with
this image on it
18. Frank Gallo (1933—
born 1933 Toledo, OH
trained as an artist with
early classes at the
Toledo Museum of Art,
Iowa State and
Cranbrook Academy.
brief period of fame for
lifesize epoxy sculptures
of women during the
1960s
then returned to
teaching art
20. “The failure of art theory and criticism to talk about prestige is
an oversight with consequences, because the artworld and
art history cannot be understood without understanding how
prestige works, how it is generated and conferred, how it
privileges and excludes, and how it pervades the culture and
induces complicity. Without prestige as part of the analysis,
the important relational, social aspect of art is obscured; the
subtleties of social positioning in art are concealed. Prestige
opens the way for particular ways of understanding art’s
audience. This ranges from articulating social complicity in
elitism and creating value, but also in analyzing how
estimations of value are contested and resisted.”
(Van Laar and Diepeveen, 55)
21. defining prestige
“Prestige, which we define as a system of hierarchies of
agreed-upon social value, is a twofold thing: it is a quality
that people confer on others, but it is also a system
inextricably bound up with that conferral, a system that gives
the rationale for those value judgments."
(Van Laar and Diepeveen, 5)
22. In examining the workings of prestige, this book also deals
with the process of valuation, best and most sharply
understood through the loss of status. It demonstrates how
prestige works, as it disappears, as it eludes one’s grasp and
one is left behind….This dispatch is larger than the
reputations of individual artists: modes of artmaking take a
back seat, subject matters become banal, and forms of
aesthetic experience lose their luster.”
(Van Laar and Diepeveen, 5)
24. conclusion
In any society, some objects are called ‘art,’
others are not. These designations are a
matter of social tradition and convention.
Such labels can change over time as a
society’s values and preferences change.
25. What is visual culture?
It includes everything that art excludes:
All the objects that are left out from consideration in the
traditional fine arts (painting, sculpture, architecture)
things made not for elite but ordinary audiences
the role of vision in the production of knowledge/power
technologies/enhancements of vision (for example, scientific
and medical imaging)
26. the case of "folk art"
As Vlach points out, the
definitions of folk art are
contradictory.
is it naive, or
sophisticated?
untrained, or skilled?
"Folk art" ends up being
defined by the social
position of the maker,
rather than by any specific
qualities of the object.
39. Horace PIPPIN, Shell Holes and Observation Balloon, Champagne Sector, c. 1931
oil on muslin, 22 1/2 x 30 7/8 inches
40. Horace PIPPIN, John Brown Going to His Hanging, 1942
oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches, PAFA
41. James Hampton
1909-1964
born in rural South Carolina
moved to Washington, DC
to live with his brother;
worked as short –order cook
and janitor
served in WWII in a
segregated unit, 385th
Aviation Unit, maintaining air
strips on Saipan and Guam
returned to Washington, DC
worked as a janitor for the
GSA
“Director, Special Projects
for the State of Eternity”
42. gold and silver aluminum foil, Kraft paper over mixed materials
180 pieces in overall configuration: 10 1/2 x 27 x 14 1/2 ft.
Includes plaques, tags and notebooks in a not-yet deciphered
language.
James HAMPTON
The Throne of the Third Heaven
of the Nations' Millennium
General Assembly
circa 1950-1964
43.
44. posted on the wall of Hampton's garage
"Where there is no vision,
the people perish.”
Proverbs 29:18
45. possibly made the first
piece as early as 1945 in
Guam
in 1950, rented a garage
and built a special staging
area inside
collected castoffs/junk from
his job and all over the city
to make this environment
63. Paradise Garden, Pennville, GA
bought 4 acres of
inexpensive land, which he
began to clear and drain
after purchasing.
Began planting, as well as
building walkways and
structures, mostly made of
concrete with embedded
objects. Many sculptures
and structures, including a
chapel he called the
“World's Folk Art Church.”
Creator: Pippin, Horace, 1888-1946
Title
Subject: Painting--United States--20th C. A.D
Collection: ARTstor Slide Gallery
Source: Data from: University of California, San Diego
Creator: Horace Pippin, American, 1888 - 1946
Title: The End of the War: Starting Home
Work Type: Paintings
Date: 1930-33
Material: Oil on canvas
Measurements: 26 x 30 1/16 inches (66 x 76.4 cm)
Description: Full View
Repository: Philadelphia Museum of Art
Repository: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Repository: Gift of Robert Carlen, 1941
Repository: 1941-2-1
Repository: http://www.philamuseum.org/main.asp
Collection: Philadelphia Museum of Art
ID Number: 1941-2-1
Source: Data From: Philadelphia Museum of Art
Rights: This image was provided by Philadelphia Museum of Art. Contact information: Ms. Conna Clark, Manager, Rights & Reproductions, Philadelphia Museum of Art, P.O. Box 7646, Philadelphia, PA 19101, (215) 684-7901 (ph), (215) 235-0034 (fax), cclark@philamuseum.org.
Rights: Please note that if this image is under copyright, you may need to contact one or more copyright owners for any use that is not permitted under the ARTstor Terms and Conditions of Use or not otherwise permitted by law. While ARTstor tries to update contact information, it cannot guarantee that such information is always accurate. Determining whether those permissions are necessary, and obtaining such permissions, is your sole responsibility.
.; 64.135 x 76.2 cm.
Repository: The Phillips Collection
Repository: Acquired 1946
Collection: The Phillips Collection
ID Number: 1572
Source: Image and original data provided by The Phillips Collection
Rights: Please note that if this image is under copyright, you may need to contact one or more copyright owners for any use that is not permitted under the ARTstor Terms and Conditions of Use or not otherwise permitted by law. While ARTstor tries to update contact information, it cannot guarantee that such information is always accurate. Determining whether those permissions are necessary, and obtaining such permissions, is your sole responsibility.
Creator: Horace Pippin (1888-1946)
Title: Outpost Raid: Champagne Sector
Date: 1931
Location: Origin: West Chester, Pennsylvania
Material: Oil on fabric
Measurements: 18 x 21"
Description: During World War I, Horace Pippin served in the well-known and respected Fifteenth Regiment of the New York National Guard, an all-black infantry unit. The regiment served under French command because of concern over integrating the U.S. Army. Spending more time abroad than any other infantry, its members exhibited enough heroics during the war to be nicknamed the "Hell Fighters" by the Germans. Pippin was wounded and sent home after serving a year. Ten years later, he started painting scenes of his memories of the war, although his right arm had to be supported by his left hand whenever he worked at his easel. By 1937 he was being championed by the mainstream artworld as a true "primitive" and an authentic "naïve." Though the war images were his first subject matter, he also limned landscapes, still lifes, portraits, and political and religious subjects, as well as genre scenes. Outpost Raid: Champagne Sector is an early painting, executed only three years after the artist started to explore paint. The subdued palette of grays, browns, and black is typical of the artist. It is as if the entire confrontation occurs in shadows. Two men are standing in a trench. An American soldier enters from the left; judging by his French helmet, gear, and weapons, he is probably a member of Pippin's regiment. On the right, a German soldier in a pale blue uniform and beret stands beside a sentry box. The scorn on the face of this soldier is the only emotion apparent in the painting, and it creates a vast distance between the two men. Silhouetted and hiding behind a bed of sandbags in the center of the composition are more American soldiers. Even though this is an early work, Pippin seems to have a fair grasp of perspective and composition in handling the landscape. The figures, however, are fashioned in a much more flattened manner. Pippin is considered one of the masters of American folk art. While his war paintings document a particular moment in global history, they also subtly address the issues of race and injustice in American life
Repository: American Folk Art Museum
Repository: Gift of Patricia L. and Maurice C.Thompson Jr.
Accession Number: 1999.25.1
Collection: American Folk Art Museum
Collection: http://www.folkartmuseum.org/
Rights: Courtney Wagner, Manager, Photo Services, American Folk Art Museum, 49 West 52nd Street, New York, NY 10022, Tel: 212-977-7170 ext. 304; Fax: 212-977-8134; cwagner@folkartmuseum.org
Rights: Please note that if this image is under copyright, you may need to contact one or more copyright owners for any use that is not permitted under the ARTstor Terms and Conditions of Use or not otherwise permitted by law. While ARTstor tries to update contact information, it cannot guarantee that such information is always accurate. Determining whether those permissions are necessary, and obtaining such permissions, is your sole responsibility.
Creator: Pippin, Horace, 1888-1946
Title: John Brown Going to His Hanging
Date: 1942
Material: oil on canvas
Measurements: 24 x 30 in
Repository: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Subject: Painting--United States--20th C. A.D
Collection: ARTstor Slide Gallery
Source: Data from: University of California, San Diego