The document discusses various perspectives on what constitutes art. It explores how art can take many forms and serve different purposes, from communication to spiritual expression to visual delight. While there is no single definition, art generally involves some element of human creation, expression, or selection that stimulates thought or emotions. The lines between art and craft, or between artistic merit and commercial purpose, can be debated depending on one's viewpoint.

1. Chapter 1 What is Art? What's Included in Art? Music, Dance, Theater, Literature and Visual Arts...Can you think of other venues? Our world has become a very visual one - we have art all around us. Understanding art is understanding our world! A good first step is to try to understand what we mean by art. What is Art? There are no single answers and not everyone will agree on a definition. Book art Collage Salvador Dali Persistence of Memory

2. The Aesthetic Experience An "aesthetic experience" is one of charged awareness. It is looking beyond the obvious and experiencing a thing or event on an emotional level. It can be activated by an experience with the natural world, the contemplation of forms (including but not limited to art), or a journey into the world of the imagination. It can be stimulated by something as simple as enjoying a good meal or as complex as a life-changing event.

3. What are the various forms of art? When you think of art, what do you think of? Rodin – The Thinker, Chicago Henry Moore – Reclining nude series

4. Is there a size limit to art? Art can come in all sizes, from massive public art to dainty table top pieces. What are some large public pieces that you know about? Woman of Willendorf c. 25,000 – 20, 000 BCE, 4 ½” tall Christo – The Wall - Nylon fence, 18 feet high and 24 miles long

5. Is art defined by its materials? We're all used to thinking of paintings as art. Or bronze or marble sculptures. But art can be made from all kinds of materials. Bicycle Tire by Duchaump Collage Michelangelo – Emerging series

6. A work can even combine art forms! Photography, ceramics, metalwork, collage - these can all be incorporated into a painting or vice versa. For example, at left, Robert Rauschenberg uses many items in his assemblage collage work, Monogram is created with a stuffed goat, a tire and a painting.

7. Some art moves! A piece may turn in the breeze, like the Calder mobiles. Or have a motor or they can have sound. The mobiles below are by Calder and were made with metal and called kinetic sculpture.

8. Does art have to be representational? Is it necessary for it to actually look like something, such as a woman, or a vase of flowers? Does art have to be realistic? Is it better if it is realistic? What makes it realistic? Can it be something that suggests something real, even if it doesn't look exactly like our eye sees it in real life? Gauguin Matisse Whistler

9. What about abstract art? What is abstract art about? It can suggest many things, create many moods, or simply celebrate something as basic as form or color. You'll notice that when you look at abstract art you tend to describe it in terms of feelings. It makes you feel happy. It makes you feel tense. Or this painting looks angry. Or quiet and peaceful. This is a great way to interpret art! Kandinsky Klee

10. A representational drawing of a cow is abstracted into colorful squares. Is this art? Theo van Doesburg Abstraction of a cow c. 1916

11. Purposes and Functions of Art Communication Day to day living Spiritual Personal expression Social and political purposes Visual delight

12. Communicating Information Art tells a story. Is it art if it is intended for another purpose? If it is originally created with the intention to instruct, or record, or illustrate, is it still art? Church window Stained glass Quilt by Faith Ringgold

13. Art has always had many roles. Paintings and now photography have long been used to record how things or people look. Art has also been used to tell stories or history. Religious art sets out to explain beliefs, tell a spiritual story, or simply for inspiration. Art can be used to memorialize an event or person. The Viet Nam Memorial by Maya Lin Greek Vase

14. Art for Day to Day Living Objects of all kinds are useful in our lives Can art be functional? If a piece is something we use for everyday living, like a fork or a blanket, can it be art?

15. Art for the Spirit Art has a spiritual component from carvings to cave paintings to structures. Lascaux cave paintings Stonehenge in England

16. Symbols of Faith Shiva, Lord of the Dance 950 CE Gothic Christ, 10-11th c. CE Athena, 5th c. BCE Religious art gives tangible form to the gods, goddesses, beliefs, hopes, and spirits of a culture and is one of the most prevalent subjects in art. The fact that religious deities and spirituality are part of an unknown gives a sense of mystery and magic to the visual depictions.

17. Art for Personal Expression Mask Self Portrait by artist Rembrandt

18. Art for Social and Political Purpose To criticize or influence values through public opinion Andy Warhol print

19. Art for Visual Delight Art for pleasure, enjoyment, diversion, or embellishment Relates back to everyday items, we like to surround ourselves with items that we enjoy

20. Art vs. Craft Are crafts art? Jewelry making, quilting, and woodworking are all referred to as crafts. Some people also call them art, while others only use the word art for certain pieces that they feel cross the line from crafts to art. Is the thing that makes the difference between craft and art the fact that it is functional? Or is the difference more about whether it is good or mediocre art and relegating the mediocre to the craft category? What do you think? Who decides if the art is good or bad? Do we always listen to those opinions? The word craft derives from the German word Kraft , which means “power.” The distinction between craft and fine art was made during the Renaissance, when artists, such as Michelangelo, wanted to separate themselves as intellectual geniuses rather than as mere craftspeople doing handiwork. Today, four distinctions of crafts can be made: (1) craft as a utilitarian object handmade out of raw materials; (2) craft as a modern rejection of mass produced, machine made products; (3) craft as art medium made with traditional craft materials; (4) craft as collectible luxury.

21. What is the difference between art and craft? It seems like many times arts and crafts get lumped together into a catch phrase most often used to describe camp activities for children. But what is the difference between art and a craft? A craft is usually a cookie-cutter or close-ended activity. The craft activity is based on a formula and all participants follow the same directions and end up with roughly the same result every time. For example, creating a god’s eye from two sticks and colored yarn is a great craft example. Yes, it involves creating something, but the end product is most always the same and there’s not a lot of room for variation. An art activity is more open-ended. For example, in a drawing project all participants may start with the same materials of paper and pencils then are asked to create drawings that represent their family. The results of this project will create many different drawings and therefore many different solutions to the same problem. While the end result may not always be considered art, the possibility of creating an original drawing that transcends its parameters and materials is always possible, and seems to be the definition of art.

22. If art is used to sell something is it still art? We call this commercial art. What are some of the forms of commercial art around us? Trademarks and logos are powerful visual communicators. Other kinds of commercial art are billboards, tv ads, animation in computer games, and package design. Some of these are beautiful. Some are not. But all were created by someone for a specific commercial purpose. Is that art?

23. If art is something done by human hands, what is art generated on a computer? Does our definition of art include that?

24. Does art have to be beautiful? What about a piece that looks truly ugly to you? Is it still art? Perhaps the artist is communicating something with that "ugliness". Sometimes the artist is trying to shock the viewer, or to make you feel uncomfortable. Why would an artist want to do that? Perhaps to make people see things in a new way? daVinci’s Ugly Man Jean-Michel Basquiat – Mona Lisa

25. Is "found art" really art? Some artists take something they simply find, and mount it and call it art. If you found an interesting piece of wood, and polished it and mounted it, would that be art? If you didn't polish it, but just mounted it, would it be art? If you just brought a piece of wood in and didn't do anything to it, didn't mount it, would this be art? Some artists will say yes, some will say no. One thing to think about is that the word art is a root in words like artifice, artifact, artisan, so linguistically it implies something made by human hands. So in that light, perhaps that piece of wood needs to have something done to it by the artist to make it art? Or is it enough that the artist selected it? Duchaump’s Fountain Found Art from beach trash

26. What is the one thing that all these art forms have in common? All art has one defining thing that it shares with all other art - COMMUNICATION! All forms of art communicate something... a feeling, an idea, a record of fact, another way of looking at something, a statement about something going on in our society, an appreciation of something beautiful, a spiritual understanding. Vessel from Japan Pueblo pot Rooster from Africa

27. Art Activity #1 What is Art? 3 – 4 people in a group 1. Define what art is to your group - 1 – 2 sentences from each group member then compile them into 1 short paragraph Then…

28. Art Activity #1 Continued What is Art? 2. Based on that definition, decide whether these items are art - shell printed coffee mug printed t shirt photograph ragged pair of jeans film poster magazine ad 3. Present your discussion to the class